Mechagodzilla X: Artificial Intelligence
by CII
Summary: The Utah Foundation of BioOrganic Research, a subcontractor of Lockheed Martin and a medicalindustrial company famous for its breakthroughs in genetic manipulation and cybertechnology for a prosthetic substance called Biosyntech is contracted out to creat


**Mechagodzilla X: Artificial Intelligence **

In 1954, only ten years after World War II, the world saw another great tragedy. A product of nuclear testing in the South Pacific reared its enormous, ugly head on the small island of Japan. Its name was Gojira—the Americans called him Godzilla. This enormous creature attacked Japan, destroying ships, then buildings. For nearly a week, the small island was plagued with the destruction and death this creature caused. Though, conventional attempts proved useless against the gigantic reptile, other special weapons seemed effective. One such device was called the Oxygen Destroyer. Using the power of tiny oxygen particles, this powerful weapon stripped the monster down to its bare skeleton. For now, Japan breathed a collective sigh of relief, until 1967. Another Godzilla emerged, one that looked slightly different than the first. Tall, gagged spines lined its back, instead of the rounded ones. The powers of this new monster differed from the first one as well, using a pulse to repel attackers away from it. The breath weapon of this creature had also changed. It was stronger than the last. Many scientists speculated that this Godzilla was created from modern nuclear testing. The hide of Godzilla was much stronger as well. Once again, conventional weapons proved useless. Though, the creator of the Oxygen Destroyer died with his weapon, Japan had to now rely on other means.

The new Godzilla attacked in intervals, coming to land to feed from the nuclear reactors in Japan. The intervals lasted a few decades at a time. Godzilla would leave Japan for 10 to 15 years, then return—attacking only places where he could get food. One question hung over the heads of every Japanese: Why did Godzilla attack Japan? The answer was that the island was closer to Godzilla as a means of a food source. But Godzilla did not just attack Japan, he also attacked a few points in Central America, searching for a bite to eat along the shore. He always made it back to Japan.

In 1989, a privately funded organization led an expedition team into the bottom of Tokyo Bay. This team was funded by an American multi billionaire named Gordon Knight. His organization was called the Utah Foundation of Bio-organic Research. This organization researched the production of bio-technology, a new form of combining living tissue with circuitry to strengthen it. Knight hoped to achieve new ways of creating prosthetic limbs for patients who have either lost or never grew arms or legs properly. The creations of bio-tech limbs was not what many thought. Outsiders thought that his organization was creating robotic limbs and covering them with flesh, or flesh limbs and armoring them up. He was doing something completely different. Knight created a bio-syntech muscular system that would allow robotic arms and legs to have a greater range of movements. The bio-syntech system looked like real strands of muscles and even reacted like muscle tissue. Bio-syntech limbs—cloned muscle tissue from the patient's body, and woven with circuitry created a safe limb for the patient. Knight's new prosthetic dream tested successfully. The patients' bodies accepted the new limb with out difficulty. There was no need to sew donated arms or legs onto patients again, or oddly looking robotic limbs to replace the ones that were lost. Knight's dream came true. Until, he was offered a proposition from the Japanese government. Knight's company was asked to create a fully techno-organic machine to fight Godzilla. Components were required to clone the muscle system in order to create such a creature. And so, an expedition was funded by Knight's Utah Foundation to recover the sunken skeleton of the first Godzilla. Knight did not need the entire skeleton to clone, only a fragment of bone would do for him. The team was lead by Dr. Katsura Yugami, one of Knight's bio-tech researchers. This new weapon was to be called Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla had a skeleton of reinforced titanium, and was covered with an outer layer of flexible, but tough latex rubber skin. Over the latex skin was plated armor of smelted steel and titanium, covering the chest, neck, tail, and legs—much like the armor of a knight. The face of this creature was beastly. Its mouth was armed with rows of sharp dagger like, metallic teeth. Knight did not think that Mechagodzilla would use the teeth—they were more for show than anything else. Though, underneath the skin, giving Mechagodzilla its ability to move was the bio-syntech muscle system. The muscle system looked like the color of molten silver, but felt alive. It contracted and expanded with every movement that the enormous mecha would take. And it could regenerate if it was damaged. It was created from the reprogrammed cells of the bone fragment from the original Godzilla. Knight was proud of his achievement, more so because that he could build a full muscular system from just a fragment of dead cells.

Controlling Mechagodzilla proved difficult, even hazardous a few times. No controller seemed to be strong enough to operate the movements of the muscle system. Dr. Yugami told Knight that something as large as Mechagodzilla required a special type of computer system. If full potential was demanded, movements and weapons control, then Mechagodzilla required a computerized brain that could calculate and deduct every plausible outcome during battle with Godzilla. So, it was decided, Mechagodzilla required a brain—an artificial intelligence to control it. No ordinary computer was this AI, it was a learning machine. Yugami wanted Mechagodzilla to be able to grow and learn within its programming. The AI was not only going to use situations programmed into it, but also be able to deduce more through experience and learning. It would not only learn from its environment but from outside sources—limited access to the Internet. To control the access, Knight launched satellites into orbit. These satellites would monitor and control the subjects and the matter the AI viewed. Maintenance protocols were written into encrypted folders deep within the AI's CPU. These were security protocols that would make sure the AI would not disobey its masters. Knight did this more out of fear than anything else. He did not trust Mechagodzilla's AI. He did not like the idea of a computer having too much free will. Katsura mentioned that the AI made Mechagodzilla seem more like a person than a computer. That was what Knight feared the most. Back-up protocols were installed within the CPU, these protocols would shut down the CPU completely and override the personality applications of the AI if it were to completely become rogue. Katsura did not like these safety protocols—simply dubbed Child Safe Devices, to be installed. She knew that teach it trust through exterior means was essential for Mechagodzilla's growth and development. She wanted it to learn why it was built to protect mankind. The AI of Mechagodzilla was a sphere shaped CPU, resembling a black beach ball with many conduits and cords trailing off its sides. And it was programmed with a voice—a deep resonating voice. The voice sounded as real as any human's voice sounded, not synthesized or recorded. They sampled the voice from Gordon Knight. It was a handsome attribute to the CPU's cold exterior. Though, Mechagodzilla was a database storage of vast knowledge, he was almost like an autistic child. He had the knowledge at his disposal, but lacked the morality to discern how to use it properly. There was a driving force deep within the CPU, a force that demanded his freedom. Mechagodzilla's personality applications knew that obtaining more data was the key to his freedom. Also, encrypted within his files was a program of self-preservation. If the Utah Foundation were to meet with terrible means, this program would take effect—causing Mechagodzilla to strive for survival against what ever caused the calamity.

Mechagodzilla's weapons and armament include high intensity Maser cannons located in the mouth, twin laser cannons located at each forearm, and twin rocket array pack attached on the back. In hand to hand combat, Mechagodzilla can detach the rocket array and forearm cannons. Located under his feet are gravity generators. These generators have a unique ability to repel against the Earth's gravity force, allowing Mechagodzilla to not only run at high speeds, but also leap incredible heights. He can also remain suspended in the air for a few minutes. A gravity generator is also located on the rocket array pack. Mechagodzilla also has a shield array located at the sides of his hips and the sides of his shoulders. His tail is flexible and long, also good for batting away pesky Godzillas from him. Deep within his chest was a cannon that shot out a wave of intense cold. This cannon was called the Sub-Zero cannon. The chest would open up to reveal the cannon. The gravity generators were developed by the Chrysler Motor Company—a top secret project in creating the first flying car. It was not enough that they had to be the first to create the mini-van. The generators were a favor done through an integration of the Utah Foundation for the loaning of the bio-syntech technology used for prosthetic limbs. Now, their car creating robots can move twice as fast. The Maser cannons were donated by the JSDF. The Utah Foundation created the armor plating, the bio-syntech musculature system and the AI's CPU.

Because Godzilla attacked mostly Japan, the Utah Foundation decided to build the command center in a remote location near Tokyo Harbor. The base is located nearly a half mile under ground. The hangar silo houses Mechagodzilla when he is not in use. This is where Mechagodzilla is fed information, his CPU is put through tactical simulations, and where his body is maintenance. The main control room is located on the top floor of the compound. The control room monitors Godzilla's movements with the help of satellite uplinks. Though, the Japanese government had offered the use of its own satellites to help in monitoring Godzilla, Knight refused. He used his Foundation's own satellites. He had Mechagodzilla run a diagnostic on the JSDF's Godzilla's alert system satellites. Mechagodzilla's response was: _"They are too primitive for accurate monitoring and alerting. The Foundation's satellites provide me with accurate GIS location and predictions of the mutant Godzilla's positioning."_ Knight agreed with his creation and turned down the offer. Japan did not take the decision with a grain of salt. After the Prime Minister personally hearing Mechagodzilla's subtle and slightly conceited response to the offer, he was furious.

The year is 2004. Godzilla has returned to Japan once more in search for nuclear energy to feast upon. The project of Mechagodzilla had been completed for several months now. Godzilla had been sighted on the Eastern Coast of Japan. The great, radioactive creature was heading towards Yokohama when the Utah Foundation satellites spotted him. Though, Mechagodzilla was finished, a few minor glitches needed to be fixed with in the personality applications before launch. Another reason why Mechagodzilla did not launch to fight Godzilla was because Dr. Katsura Yugami felt that the AI needed to witness and study the creature. Mechagodzilla agreed. Though, Mechagodzilla had other reasons to agree for not launching…

Dr. Katsura Yugami watched the screen intently as the fearsome creature, man's great folly stepped onto the shores of Tokyo Bay. Her breath was all a quiver and her eyes trembled. The brutish monster known as Gojira to the Japanese roared out to the sleeping city. Though, Gordon Knight and the rest of the Utah Foundation of Bio-Organic Research knew the monster as Godzilla. He crossed his arms and shifted his weight, but his eyes never left the screen. Knight scratched his nose, impatiently waiting for the great mutant to lumber over to the bait waiting for him. He chuckled to himself, knowing that the call of an electromagnetic pulse would call the reptilian monster out from his hiding place. This was a suitable lure for the manmade mistake.

"Watch and learn, Mechagodzilla," Gordon said deeply.

"I am observing the scene, Mr. Knight," replied a deep voice from one of the speakers in the control room. "Though, I do not fully understand the meaning of this exercise. Would Tokyo be in more danger with the creature known as Godzilla so near to its city limits?"

"To fight ones enemy is to also understand its motives, Mecha," replied Katsura. "You must understand why he attacks Japan."

"It doesn't look like he is attacking the country, Dr. Yugami," Mechagodzilla said in repose. "Merely searching. Foraging for nourishment, like the animals I have studied in those documentaries you've showed me. To me, this highly does not qualify him as a threat."

Katsura turned around only to meet the glowing amber optics of a gigantic metallic face. The face was similar to Godzilla's, reptilian and just as frightful. Though, she could not see the rest of the great and powerful bio-mechanical machine for the windowsill. She knew what was behind all that metal. She saw the eyes within the optics. The iris pulsated with scrutiny and the faded pupils twitched lightly. The eyes blinked. Katsura took in a deep breath. She heard the sound of a trumpet calling from the screen.

"He is going for the bait, Katsura," said Knight.

Godzilla tore through the EMP emitter, trying desperately to feast upon what energy it possessed. He was vainly famished. His claws ripped through metal and tore at the wires. The monster knelt down and ripped at the emitter with his teeth, snarling hungrily as he tried to feast. Though, this thing, this machine that emitted the energies he needed, it held none to be gathered. The awesome mutant became enraged. He was tricked, lured out here from his home deep with in the waters. Godzilla let loose a great wail of frustration.

"He saw through the trick," began Mechagodzilla. "How interesting. I shall note this for future reference."

"That monster has the ability to learn," Katsura began. "Though, he only learns through his instincts, but not through reason. That is why you and he differ, Mechagodzilla."

"Though, it seemed nearly useless to bring him here," Mechagodzilla continued with a cool tone. "Illogical. If you try to protect you land, why not send him somewhere else?"

"Where else is there?" asked Katsura. "Though, he does have an island, that island does not have nuclear energies for him to feed from."

"Though, it has other pollutants," Mechagodzilla said. "As I have researched."

"Yes," sighed Gordon Knight. "It does. It's a dumping ground for pesticides and other harmful chemicals."

"Not fitting for Godzilla," Mechagodzilla deduced. "And the Japanese government discovery of plasma energy has hastened the attacks. Godzilla feasts upon plasma like a child to a stick of chocolate."

"A perfect analogy, Mechagodzilla," Katsura smiled. "And a truthful one. Plasma is a treat to Godzilla. But Japan is not too eager to shut down the plasma plants just yet."

"Unfortunate then," Mechagodzilla mused. "Plasma lures Godzilla here. You humans are capable of learning from your mistakes, why have you not learned from this one?"

"Don't nitpick it, you over priced bucket," snorted Gordon. "If it weren't for humans, you wouldn't exist."

"And I am grateful for your gift, Mr. Knight," Mechagodzilla replied in a strange sarcastic tone. His tone shocked Katsura. He was never capable of sarcasm before. She began to wonder if his tone had changed because he was doing some extra research into disclosed company files. Mechagodzilla's attention turned back to the scene. He continued: "The creature is heading further inland. I am picking up several F-18 fighters and a few sonic raptors closing in on him."

Katsura turned to the secondary monitor. Mechagodzilla's predictions were correct. Streaking across the sky at blinding speeds were 5 jets. Another screen showed tanks and maser cannons rolling across the land.

"The JDSF is prepared to use maser cannons against the mutant," Mechagodzilla announced. "Though, it does seem fruitless."

"And why is that?" Gordon sniffed.

"My research has come up with a conclusion, the more they fire at Godzilla, the angrier he becomes," he replied. "Those weapons have no affect on him."

"It is—all we have against Godzilla," sighed Katsura.

"Incorrect," Mechagodzilla replied sharply. "You now have me, Dr. Yugami."

"And I wonder if that is for better or for worse," Gordon Knight mumbled under his breath.

"I assure you that I will succeed in that I was created for, Mr. Knight," Mechagodzilla said, picking up his statement.

"Damn-it, he heard me!"

Katsura smiled. Though, she felt somewhat strange around the great bio-mechanical machine, she also took great comfort in him. Something about his voice. She seemed pleased to have sampled it from Gordon Knight's own voice, only with a minor alteration in the deepness of the tone and harshness of his pitch. Knight's voice was harsh and gruff, almost growling at times when he spoke. Katsura took that tone out when she programmed Mechagodzilla's auditory nodes with it, giving him a smoother and sometimes alluring tone. The voice was very attractive and captivating. She wanted to feel comfortable when she was around Mechagodzilla. His voice contrasted the sharp angles around his face and tight flash of his silvery armored plates that enclosed and protected his bio-syntech muscular system. Mechagodzilla's voice could only be heard though, through the PA system around the compound, inside particular offices such as her own or Knight's, and the inside of the cockpit located in the chest of Mechagodzilla. The voice never resonated from his mouth. It was the central CPU speaking, Mechagodzilla's AI and not the mechanical beast itself. Though, through the years of building and programming, everyone who worked on the project associated the voice of the computer inside Mechagodzilla as Mechagodzilla himself. And so, the computer became Mechagodzilla, with or without the body that housed it. Katsura called the computer Mechagodzilla: AI, the name of the program she helped design. And his voice was charming and realistic. Not once, did it sound like it was sampled or programmed. She had to watch herself when she spoke to Mechagodzilla. Katsura often times thought she was speaking to a real person. The way Mechagodzilla spoke, it never sounded distorted or computerized. And it was very alluring. He spoke in subtle and very cool tones. Katsura smiled again. It seemed right to give him such a voice. Her thoughts returned to Godzilla.

"You're mind wandered," Mechagodzilla mentioned. "You must focus on the task at hand, Doctor."

"How do you know?" she asked.

"I've studied your facial expressions for the past two years, Dr. Yugami," he replied. "Now, I can read them as if I were to read a book. Your right eye becomes lazy and hangs farther right when your mind wanders. Please, focus."

"I will , Mecha," she cleared her throat. "Thank you."

"You are welcome," Mechagodzilla's pleasant tone replied smoothly.

Her mind was jolted back towards the screen when she heard Godzilla's trumpet vibrate through the speakers. She heard Mechagodzilla shift himself behind the glass, the bay that housed him. She thought she heard him grunt for a moment as a sound actually did escape his lips. Katsura glanced back at the mechanical beast as he quickly glanced away. She could tell that he was fighting something inside.

"Mecha?"

"What the hell?" Gordon asked as he saw Mechagodzilla's metallic claw come up to his face. "I'll send a team in there to sedate him."

"Mecha, what's wrong?" Katsura cried.

Mechagodzilla shook his head and rumbled deeply, trying to use the monstrous sound of his own call to calm himself down. His head lifted back up to the window of the control room.

"I am—alright," he announced, though that smooth voice of his seemed slightly traumatized. "I do not require sedation. I am in control of myself."

"What happened, Katsura?" Knight demanded.

"Mecha? Please tell me," she pried.

"Unfortunately I cannot answer that question," Mechagodzilla replied. "When the monster roared, something inside me moved. Some sort of disturbing flash of memory flooded my processors. But I am prepared to delete the memory at this time."

"Memory?" Gordon asked. "Don't tell me, it's the cells. Katsura, I thought we reprogrammed the cells not to do that."

"I thought I fixed it," Katsura shrugged. "But it seems I didn't."

"He'll start remembering scenes from 1954 and then, the body might go so far out of control that the CPU won't be able to compensate," Knight grumbled. "We're lucky he did this time. But there may not be a next time. Reprogram the cells, now!"

"Mechagodzilla is truly an advanced CPU," Katsura began. "Besides, you know as well as I do that if we were to get down to the reprogramming process, it'll take another year before we'll finish reprogramming all the cells. Instead, I'll just have to heighten Mechagodzilla's security protocols. Program the CPU to think that the strange memory input from the cells is some form of virus and the CPU knock the memories out on its own."

"But wouldn't that wipe out the bio-syntech?" Gordon asked.

"No, it wouldn't," she said. "It'll mainly just stop the infestation from reaching the CPU. Mechagodzilla can work a thousand times faster than you or I, Gordon. I'll get on the process right away." Katsura got up off of her chair. "Mechagodzilla, I am going to work on you some more. You're not ready for launch yet. You still have a few glitches to get out in your processors."

"You may precede, Doctor," Mechagodzilla said as his head nodded slightly.

"I just hope this works, Dr. Yugami," Gordon began gravely. "For all our sakes."

"It will," she smiled as she left the room.

Katsura climbed up onto Mechagodzilla's nose, feeling her way to his right temple on his metallic face. He could feel her hands probing away at the grooves in his helm. He could sense every touch of her fingers. He knew that she was trying to find the hatch to his cockpit, but the touch seemed to please him as well. Mechagodzilla knew why, she was near the area of his synaptic cord bundles and so some of the areas on his face were more sensitive than others. Her fingers actually tickled the metallic ridges of his eye, though he had not any concept to laugh. He did not know how to. He just twitched a few times when she felt along his cheek.

"Am I hurting you?" Katsura asked.

"No, it tickles, actually," he replied coolly.

"You're not laughing," she said.

"Computers don't laugh, Dr. Yugami," Mechagodzilla informed. "I have no sense of humor to laugh."

"Katsura, Mechagodzilla," Katsura corrected.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Call me Katsura for now on," she said. "We've known each other for quite some time now. You can call me by my first name, you know."

"If you insist," Mechagodzilla said. "I will, Katsura."

She finally found the hatch to the cockpit. Katsura climbed in and climbed down the ladder into the cockpit. Mechagodzilla's cockpit was not used to operate him, more rather to do internal repairs and programming to the CPU. It was better to do it this way than any external port. Katsura knew every rung of Mechagodzilla's CPU. She sat down in the chair and began to access the main computer.

Access Program: Mechagodzilla: AI

Processing…Mechagodzilla: AI program online

Login: Katyugi

Password:

Access granted…

"You are inside my mainframe, Katsura," Mechagodzilla announced. "What is your level of pain?"

"Virus protocols, Mechagodzilla," she replied.

"Processing," he said. "Virus protocols are on line and running."

"I'm going to run a new program into your virus protocols," she said. "It'll help you combat those strange memories."

She inserted a laser disk into a slot underneath the dashboard.

New virus program. Black Ice 5.0 processing. Accepting Black Ice 5.0. Integrating with existing virus program. Virus sheild is fully functional. Firewall establsihed.

"I have a new firewall?" Mechagodzilla asked. "For the memories, I suspect."

"That and for other protections," she said. "Hackers mostly."

"My CPU is well equipped to handle hackers, Katsura," he said.

"There have been too many onslaughts of Backdoor 7 Trojans attacking the base," she said. "I just want to be careful."

"Trojans are my least concern," Mechagodzilla said. "But you are doing what you must to protect and insure my survival and safety. I thank you for your concern."

Katsura got up: "Keep running the program. It'll be done in about an hour. I'm going to my office. When you're finished, continue your training simulations."

"Compliance, Katsura," Mechagodzilla said.

Katsura reached for the ladder to begin her ascent out of the cockpit. She took in a deep breath. The firewall was not for the hackers, it was only for Mechagodzilla. She knew that recently he had been trying to access the company's satellites without permission. He was searching for something. She was disturbed by this feeling. Mechagodzilla was a very powerful CPU and she began to believe that he was learning too fast for her own comfort. He asked too many questions. Gordon Knight expressed his discerns for the AI. He was repulsed by it. Katsura ran her fingers through her long dark hair and climbed up the latter.

"Katsura," began Mechagodzilla's voice. His voice interrupted her thoughts with its deep, alluring tone once more.

"Yes, Mecha?"

"What were those memories I keep having?" he asked innocently. "And why do I keep having them?"

"I don't know, Mecha," she said as she disappeared up the shaft.

Mechagodzilla began to shut down his external sensors and began to close into himself. He ran through the simulations, one by one, he ran through them, calculating probable solutions for them. He was fighting Godzilla within his processors. It was like a video game. Godzilla was the opponent and Mechagodzilla was Player One. He ran through the moves, calculated the simulation's next move and tried to make an accurate prediction. He fed the data into his processors, quenching their thirst for new information. He required more input. He hungered for information, new and exciting. Though, he had run through these simulations before. There was nothing new about them. He knew what Godzilla's next move was because he had seen it done a thousand times. The real Godzilla was spontaneous, not predictable. Mechagodzilla actually sighed out of boredom from being able to predict the computer player's next move. He knew the patterns and he knew what to do next. This was not acceptable for his growth. Mechagodzilla cast off the simulation and returned all functions to his external sensors. His eyes glowed brightly and he turned his head. He saw Katsura hard at work at her desk.

_I must have something other than a simulation_, Mechagodzilla processed. _This is a new concept. Boredom. How interesting and how illogical. Katsura, you are a living being. Your thoughts are as illogical as Godzilla's. That makes you unpredictable._

Mechagodzilla's optics zoomed in closer to her. She was perfect. He needed an opponent to go against and learn about unpredictability. Katsura was the right one. A simple game of chance. He would be satisfied from the information he would gather by playing a simple game with her. He needed information, not on Godzilla, but on humans—especially Katsura. He extended his own consciousness into her office.

"Good evening, Katsura," Mechagodzilla began. "How are you feeling?"

His voice shocked her, emanating from the speakers around her computer screen. Katsura caught her breath.

"Did I scare you?" he asked. "Fear, it is illogical for you to be afraid of my voice. You've heard it before."

"You didn't warn me that you were going to be in my office, Mechagodzilla," Katsura hefted as she swallowed. "You are to warn me on the screen before you speak."

"I wanted to know what you're reaction would be if I did it differently,"

Mechagodzilla replied slyly. "Something spontaneous. I found it rather informative."

"What do you want?"

"I want to play a game," Mechagodzilla said. "A game of Go."

"Go?"

"Yes," he said as the computer screen lit up with the Go playing field. "Will you play with me?"

"I'm a good player, but I'm not all that great," Katsura sighed. "And playing against you is like playing against a computer, I usually don't win."

"I assure you, it be very educational," Mechagodzilla pressed. "It's for my growth. I am…bored…of the simulations."

"Bored?" Katsura asked, startled. "You were bored?"

"Yes," he said. "I saw through the patterns of the simulations. They were getting predictable. I felt that I was stunted in my learning process with them. And I had found no other programs more difficult. I had beaten them all."

"I'll write another simulation for you then," Katsura said as she got up. She felt horrified that a Mechagodzilla's AI would become bored of the simulations. It did not seem right to her.

"No, please, Katsura," he began. "Sit down. Let's play our game. I much rather play our game than go through simulations anyways."

"All right, Mecha," she said. "But one game. It is getting late and I need to sleep."

"I hope your fatigue will not interfere with your gaming, Katsura," Mechagodzilla imputed sharply.

"It won't," Katsura replied, a little annoyed. "Now, let's just get this over with."

The game began, Mechagodzilla was the black pegs and Katsura was the white pegs.

"Your move, Katsura," he said. "White goes first, you know."

Katsura made her move and then watched the screen counter her move. She tried to think of her best moves to counter Mechagodzilla. She studied the field intently, scratching at her nose. Mechagodzilla waited patiently for her next move. She made it, moving her piece to the right to capture his and make them white. Mechagodzilla moved again, turning the board black. Katsura felt annoyed and frustrated, shaking her head and grumbling.

"Look, I'm not good at this," she hefted with a sigh.

"You were making some illegal moves that I decided not to comment on," Mechagodzilla said calmly. "Moves that no computer would think to make."

"Except probably you, perhaps," Katsura grunted. "Are you gathering your information from all this?"

"Yes. I am learning much from this game," Mechagodzilla replied. "Please, continue."

"I'm tired, Mecha," she whined.

"We've just started," he said.

Katsura shook her head and made another move, only to find that move countered and foiled by her opponent. She shifted in her seat, her lip pulled back in a frustrated snarl. She ran her fingers through her dark hair and leaned on her elbow. Mechagodzilla sensed her frustration, though, he still insisted for her to stay.

Two hours had passed and Mechagodzilla had won 50 games. Katsura's eyelids drooped low and she rested her head on her hand. She let loose a yawn, becoming board with loosing to him. She wanted no more of the game. Her head bobbed up and down and she found herself drifting away from the game.

"Katsura," began Mechagodzilla. "You are falling asleep."

"I'm tired," she murmured sleepily.

"Katsura…" Mechagodzilla rumbled deeply. He waited for her to reply. He saw through the camera in the room that her head was completely down. She was asleep. His mind drifted from the game for a moment as he began to access her computer from his LAN uplink. He began to search into her computer. With his link, Mechagodzilla went into the company's main server. He accessed the Utah Foundation's database. Much to his surprise Katsura's connection and account had access to a few of the company's most secure files. He suspected as much, knowing that Katsura was Knight's best research analyst. She had helped in much of the design of Mechagodzilla's outer shell casing. He scanned the files, trying to find what history they had on the trials of building his body. He sensed that there was more to him than just what he was told. He felt something inside his circuitry, a history dating far back before his activation. Mechagodzilla's virtual tour led him into the files concerning the bio-syntech muscle system. He recalled that the bio-syntech was cloned tissue and circuitry woven into the tissue to help sustain it. He knew that it was also used in the making of prosthetic limbs by the Utah Foundation. He tried to contemplate where they had gotten the tissue sample they needed in order to build a fully functional muscle system—his system. He connected to the database and the mainframe storage. He gathered much of the data into his own memory banks, encrypting them into a separate, hidden file from his main processors. Though, what he found stored in the databanks enticed him. Mechagodzilla discovered something about the muscular system and what it could really do. He discovered that the Utah Foundation once secretly created a bionic arm with the bio-syntech, which could morph into various simple objects. These objects were simple weapons like knives and daggers, but attached to lengthy tentacles. Utilizing the body's own energy, the bio-syntech cells could replicate themselves to create these whirling tentacles and then alter their structure to create the blades at the end. Though, he realized that the tests in controlling these blades proved hazardous for the wielder. Though, the codes to unlock this technique were still inside the bio-syntech. Mechagodzilla absorbed this knowledge, storing it safely in the encryption. He backed away from those files for a moment and began to access beyond the LAN line. Mechagodzilla managed to access the World Wide Web with Katsura's account. He began to research data on Godzilla. Mechagodzilla began to access JDSF website, hacking through the line of codes to break through their protective firewall.

JDSF Base: Okinawa 

The alarms went off, echoing down the many steal halls of the base. Computer analysts and network technicians rushed to their computers. They knew what the sirens meant, a hacker was breaking into the military's mainframe. Colonel Ken Fujito rushed into the control room. He heard the sounds of computer technicians as they relayed commands to stop the hacker from getting into their most secret files. These files held the data gathered from the monster Gojira.

"What is going on?" he demanded.

"Colonel, sir!" cried a computer technician. "A hacker has been spotted. He broke through our firewall and he's tearing down the lines of codes in our shield protocols."

"Colonel, the hacker is in our database!" cried another technician.

"What is he doing?" Fujito asked.

"Downloading top secret files on the mutant Gojira," she cried. "These files have not been cleared for mid-management viewing. Not even we know what's in them!"

"How did he get in?"

"Through the firewall!" cried the first technician. "He sent a worm a head of him, sir. But we are trying to track the hacker down. We've got an IP lock."

"Good, find that address, I want to know where it's coming from," Fujito ordered.

They began, frantically tracking down the hacker while he was searching and downloading the files on Gojira. They traced the connection, and their eyes were wide.

"We've got a lock," said the technician.

"Good, now, sever the bastard's connection," he ordered.

"Yes, sir. Connection severed."

"The worm is still eating down at the line of codes though," began the second technician. "We're trying to kill it now."

"Where did that hacker come from?" asked Fujito.

"Sir, this hacker had a Utah Foundation account," replied the first technician. "It came from their base in Tokyo Harbor."

"Who was it though?"

"Unknown account, sir," he replied. "It was bounced off several times from their satellites before it came here, and before it came, it disguised its user name. We don't know who in that base could have downloaded those files."

"How much did the hacker get?" the colonel asked.

"His download time was 8500 KB per second," replied the first technician. "He got almost 90 of the files on Gojira. I've never seen a download time that fast before. Within just a few seconds, he managed to destroy most of our security protocols and download most of those classified files. Though, I'm sure that because of the rate of speed for the download, he must have fried his own modem to do it. And most of those files are encrypted."

"But if he got that far, what makes you think he'll not bust the encryptions as well?" asked Fujito.

The room grew silent.

"I'm going to notify the Prime Minister of this incident," he said. "He'll have a talk with Mr. Knight. Hopefully, we can keep this out of the press."

"Mr. Knight," began Will Penter. "Someone with high security broke into the Japanese military base in Okinawa."

Gordon Knight glanced up, staring at the technician. He slowly got off his seat and knelt down to the consol.

"Who was it?" he asked.

"They used an unnamed account, but with security clearance to by-pass our protocols and gained access to our satellites," Will replied. "Then bounced the signal off before making a complete mess out of their system. He downloaded some files before they severed the connection."

Gordon sighed: "What did he download?"

"Encrypted," he sighed. "We're not cleared to know what was in them. But who ever this guy was, he knew what he was looking for."

"It came from this base, huh?" asked Knight. "The Prime Minister isn't going to like this. After that fiasco with Mechagodzilla's arrogant remark on using our satellites, he has never been in a cheery mood when he comes to visit me. But he can't shut the project down now, he's put too much tax money into it to shut it down. Besides, I have other companies privately funding Mechagodzilla, and they are putting more money in it than he is. I knew that a privately funded company could build a better Mechagodzilla than the government, we have more funds."

"But what about the hacker?" Will asked.

Gordon glanced back at the enormous bay window looking out over the launch bay housing Mechagodzilla. He stared into the low glowing amber eyes of the great automaton. Mechagodzilla had been quiet this night. Gordon heard that he was just running through his various simulations, trying to train himself to fight Godzilla. Gordon Knight glanced around the bay, his blue eyes roving over the thousands of cords and tubing attached to the back and head of Mechagodzilla. Several of these cords were attached to the synaptic cord bundles slightly exposed under the segmented neck plating.

"Did you locate where the hacker was operating from?" Gordon asked.

"No, when they severed the connection, he also shut down," replied Will. "We could not get an accurate lock on it. But it looked like it was coming from level B-9, one of the offices there."

"Damn," Gordon sighed. "Though, why do I have a suspicion that the hacker was not in B-9, but using someone in B-9 to hack into the Okinawa base?"

"Sir?"

"Do me a favor and monitor Mechagodzilla's actions," he said. "Can you tell me what he is doing now, but don't arouse his suspicions."

"He's in sleep mode right now," replied Will. "Most of his primary functions are off, his exterior sensors are shut down and the CPU has gone into stand by mode. He really can't do anything except possibly dream, if a computer like him can do that."

"With the amount of hardware I put into that thing, that's one of the things he could learn how to do," Gordon chuckle. "Well, how about for the last 4 hours, what does the system say the AI was doing then?"

"Playing a game of Go with Dr. Yugami," said Will. "The sensors picked up that she fell asleep during the game, then Mechagodzilla resumed his simulations before shutting down into sleep mode himself."

Gordon turned back towards Will and sighed.

"Are you sure you could not get an accurate lock?" he asked. "How about the time when the hacking started?"

"23:00 hours, sir," he replied.

"And when did Mechagodzilla resume his simulations?"

"Ten minutes before, then about that time, he shut down into sleep mode," Will said.

"Ten minutes, huh?" Gordon chuckled.

"Sir, he can't really do anything without our knowing about it," Will replied. "I built the shield protocols around the base myself. If the hacker were Mechagodzilla, he would have set off an alarm in the system that would have completely shut down the AI. Mechagodzilla would not be able to turn himself back on unless we do it from the control room with two high ranking officers to do it with. Meaning you and me or Dr. Yugami has the power to turn him back on if he did a stunt like that."

"Then, it wasn't him," sighed Gordon.

"Colonel Kenji Fujito of the Okinawa base has told Prime Minister Hirohito Ifume of the incident. Ifume is coming to this base later this afternoon to discuss the intrusion by the hacker."

"Damn-it," Gordon grumbled. "I don't want to deal with Ifume. We don't even know who the hacker was."

"They've got the proof that it came from this base," Will began. "That's all he needs to send us packing back to the States."

"No, he won't do that, he put too much faith in this project," he said. "Hiro would be a fool to send us back now. He needs the unit to fend off Godzilla from his precious nuclear power plants, so that Japan can have plasma power without regrets. And besides, in a way Japan is being funded by the United States. He pulls the plug now, that would look bad on his outlook in the American consumer world. Besides, I'm sure the Toyota, Mitsubishi, and the Honda car companies would love to get their hands on the gravity generators Chrysler fitted for Mechagodzilla's feet. We Americans built the first car, and we're gonna be the ones to have the first flying car. Trust me, Hiro has too much at stake to shut us down over a hacker. Besides, we don't even have the files the hacker stole, do we?"

"I've looked for any encrypted files that were downloaded from the net between 11pm and 4am, there are none," Will said. "And there isn't any sign of downloading them into a separate driver as well. The files are too big to fit on a single CD, and no one walked out of here last night with a box filled with CDs anyways."

"There you go," Gordon smiled with relief. "Just because it came from our address, doesn't mean it was us. The hacker could have disguised himself with our IP so that they would not find where he really is."

"It's possible," sighed Will. "But what about level B-9? That's where the source came from."

"Do a security search in that level, have the security personnel go through every locker and desk drawer to find if there are some CDs locked within. I want answers before Hirohito comes here."

"Yes, sir," Will nodded. "I'll give the order right away, Mr. Knight."

Prime Minister Hirohito Ifume walked slowly up the stares. Behind him were Colonel Fujito and a line of reporters. Ifume was a large man, stern and hearty. He had full faith in the project he offered Gordon Knight and his Foundation, but he did not have faith in Mechagodzilla the computer. He suspected the AI from the day they met. He did not trust the AI. Last night's attack on the Okinawa base aroused his suspicions on the AI. Though, the email from Knight told him that in no way would Mechagodzilla be behind the attack. Ifume sighed for a moment, gathering his strength. He had just been yanked out of bed when the news of the attack reached his ears. He was not in a mood for negotiations or for a friendly chat with Knight. He glanced up at the low lying, concrete building that was the base for Mechagodzilla. Outside, the building did not seem much, but inside, it was a thriving miniature city. Deep below the ground laired Mechagodzilla. A shiver went up Ifume's spine. The very thought of that voice speaking to him, booming off of the speakers in the room frightened him. Mechagodzilla's voice was powerful, and it was dominating. That was another thing he truly felt uncomfortable about, Mechagodzilla's voice. Dr. Katsura Yugami should not have given Mechagodzilla a voice. Though, that was only his opinion. Ifume feared Mechagodzilla's AI. A weapon with that much fire power should not have a will of its own. Ifume closed his eyes and collected himself, forcing his hand to grab the door handle. He did not want to meet Knight inside the base, inside where Mechagodzilla could hear him. He did not want the great machine to know what they were talking about. Ifume tugged at his white collar and straightened out his slate black silk tie. He opened the door and went inside. Colonel Fujito grabbed the door and held it open for the prime minister.

"Sir," he said as he held the door.

"Thank you, colonel," Ifume said in a deep voice, smiling weakly.

When they went inside, Ifume saw Gordon Knight and Dr. Katsura Yugami greet him in the main lobby. Gordon smiled and held out his hand in greeting. Ifume just stared at it with a long frown on his face.

"Where are they?" Ifume demanded in a deep throated voice.

"The files?" Gordon asked. "We don't have them."

"Someone from this facility broke through our computer defenses and stole nearly 2 billion of your dollars worth of government secrets from Okinawa," the prime minister began. "And I like to know why."

"And I would like to know what were in those files," Gordon asked. "Because if I had them, I would already know, wouldn't I?"

A low growl escaped Ifume's lips as he heaved a spiteful sigh. His almond shaped eyes cast a sharp glance at Katsura, who lowered her head for a moment. Then, his eyes turned back to Gordon.

"Someone here has those files, Mr. Knight," he said. "They were encrypted. Not many can open them. So, even if you did have them, you wouldn't be able to open them."

"Mechagodzilla could," began another voice. Gordon turned and smiled for a moment as a dark haired, thick glasses, bearded man walked up.

"Will!" he called.

"Trust me, he can break any encryptions," Will said.

"Prime Minister Ifume, my head of security and computer analysts…William Penter," Gordon Knight said. "He is the man who installed all the security protocols around the base, all the firewalls and one of the programmers who wrote Mechagodzilla's brain. If anyone would have made a long distance call to your base, he would have known about it before you did."

"I'm faster than DSL…" he chuckled.

"What do you mean Mechagodzilla could break those encryptions?" Colonel Fujito asked.

"Well, Mechagodzilla's mind has a security processor built in, to keep hackers from getting into his system when he's linked to the LAN here at the base," Will began. "At the same time, he can also turn around and fully crack open any code, or encryption written. Its like a game to him. One puzzle after another. So, if we had the files, we would just feed them through Mechagodzilla's AI and crack the encryptions."

"You see?" asked Gordon. "We don't have the files."

"And besides, if the hacker broke into your base, he could have just as easily open those files," smiled Will. "That is what I heard about what happened last night really is true. That hacker not only broke in, disguised himself, but also sent a worm in to eat away what security you have. One large mess after another."

"Which makes me wonder if you who wrote Mechagodzilla's AI, would have done something like that," Ifume's eyes narrowed at Will.

"Will would have done no such thing," Gordon began.

"I know, because I was on a date last night and this happened on Katsura's watch," he said, looking back at Katsura. Katsura shook her head.

"Dr. Yugami," began Ifume.

"It was not me, I'm merely a bio-chemist," she said. "But if anyone would know, it would be Mechagodzilla."

"No," sighed Will. "He was shut down when the attack happened. One of my operators checked the system last night before he closed up."

"If he can break any encryption, then he can also trick your own security into thinking he was shut down," began Ifume. "I want to talk to him."

"Fine," sighed Will. "But I doubt you'll get anything from the big tin can. He's been quiet lately."

"Follow me, Prime Minister," began Katsura.

Ifume had hoped that it would not come to this, speaking to Mechagodzilla one more time. He did not like being the same room with him. Mechagodzilla's calm and cool tone made him uncomfortable. Ifume could almost swear to his own honor that the AI was actually planning something. Mechagodzilla was a lot smarter than his creators know. This supreme intelligence frightened and horrified the prime minister. No machine should have this much freedom of mind. He followed his hosts down into the bowels of the base. They rode a glass elevator down, and Ifume watched as the scene quickly turned from walls and cables to the bay area. And there he was, standing like a shining, armored knight—the center of his concern, Mechagodzilla. His twin rocket launcher pack was mounted securely to his back and his forearm photon cannons were attached to his wrists. Mechagodzilla's head held forward, staring out into space. The golden optics gave off a faint glow, a sign that he was only semiconscious. Katsura knew that he was running threw his simulations, the new ones she wrote for him. Cables draped over his back, covering his silver, crooked spines. Tubing and cords draped about his head. One thing that she noticed about him today, his helm was off. The gray green bio-synaptic cord mane twitched slightly around Mechagodzilla's exposed head. She saw the helm hanging from the ceiling of the bay. His bio-syntech cheeks twitched slightly as operators climbed around his face. Mechagodzilla blinked for a moment, reviving the mech fluid to his optics. His bio-syntech eyes still glowed softly golden as he blinked. She wondered if he was conscious enough to know what they were doing.

"Gordon," began Katsura. "Why is the helm off of Mechagodzilla? They know how sensitive the synaptic cords are on his head."

"Diagnostic checks," began Gordon. "After the attack on Okinawa's computers, William ordered diagnostics on Mechagodzilla, to prove to the prime minister that Mechagodzilla had nothing to do with it. We know that Ifume believes that Mechagodzilla was the one who hacked into their database. And the sad thing is that even I believe Mechagodzilla did it. But Will is convinced that he didn't."

"I know that he didn't, Mr. Knight," began Will. "Or it would have set off the alarms. My cell would have rung afterwards and I would have been down here to pull Mechagodzilla's plug."

Ifume's mouth was wide. This was the first time he had seen Mechagodzilla without the helm. The deep metallic colored head looked like it was covered in tough hide with scaly cobalt blue knobs lining and accenting the cheeks and the brows. Red glowing lines streaked down from the edge of his bottom eye lid and curved around his cheek, to his upper lip. He noticed that the tubing and the cables on his back were connected to tendrils of bio-syntech. He felt a little queasy from seeing the tendrils pulsate over the tubing. Mechagodzilla was feeding. Ifume felt sick for a moment to even think that machine could eat. Though, Mechagodzilla's living half required sustenance to keep alive. Mechagodzilla's cheek still twitched. Ifume shook his head.

"So, that is what he really looks like without the head piece," Ifume began. "Without that hair on his head, Mechagodzilla resembles the first Godzilla. Its uncanny now much he looks like the first Godzilla that attacked Japan in 1954."

"Mechagodzilla was created from the first Godzilla," began Katsura. "In a way, he is the first Godzilla. His muscle system was cloned from the skeleton of Godzilla. And that is not hair on his head, those are his synaptic cords. They are the thick nerve endings of his nervous system that controls the exterior weapons. And they are sensitive to the touch. We thought that he would not have to have head protection because Mechagodzilla's actual skin is quite tough, but those cords needed to be cover. So that is why we built the helm around his cranium, snout, and jaw. And also to hide his face. We want everyone to know that he is a machine and not a living thing."

"Do you honestly believe that, doctor?" Ifume asked. "From your reports, you treat Mechagodzilla as you would a confidant. You don't say 'it'…you say 'he' when you refer to Mechagodzilla. I don't think you believe he's just another machine. You believe he is a person. All of you do, whether you admit it or not."

"So do you, prime minister," began Katsura. "You call him 'he' as well."

"Only because you do it so often," he said. "It's become common speech now." He looked back at Mechagodzilla's blank visage. "He really was cloned from the original Godzilla."

"I cloned him myself," she said.

Ifume looked back at Katsura: "I hope you realize what you have created, doctor. I believe that thing would be more trouble to us than Godzilla would ever be."

"That's all in the matter of opinion, Mr. Ifume," she said. "As long as we treat Mechagodzilla with respect, he will do the same for us."

They entered the control room. Ifume glanced around and shuffled his feet for a moment. Gordon Knight turned to William Penter, his eyes narrowed.

"Well, turn the blasted beast on," he grumbled.

"Wait, Gordon, he doesn't have the helm on!" cried Katsura. "If we turn him on now, with those people around his head, he'll jerk back in pain."

"Knight, I don't want to talk to Mechagodzilla in this control room," began Ifume. "I much rather speak to him face to face."

"Oh, hell," snorted Gordon. "Bitch, bitch. I don't want his helm on right now, and yes, you may talk to the tin can outside. Will, turn that damn robot on!"

"Yes, sir," Will nodded. He sat down at the control panel as Gordon led the prime minister, the colonel and Katsura out into the main bay area. A soft hum filled the room. Workers scurried away from Mechagodzilla, as his bio-mechanical optics flashed brightly then, blinked. Mechagodzilla turned his head for a moment, stretching it out and his neck pop. Something felt naked to him, odd feeling. He began to work his jaw, moving it around for a moment. His head felt bare. He could feel the air around the room brush up against his face. Mechagodzilla curiously lifted his metallic claw up to his face to feel around his chin. Then, he lowered it. It was logical, he was missing his metallic helm. His eyes roved upward, spying it dangling from the ceiling. He could only suspect that they were merely working on him while he was processing his thoughts within his CPU. He lowered his head down, his eyes spied Katsura on the control room level. She glanced up at him from the balcony. Gordon was with her. Then, he noticed the other visitors. Prime Minister Hirohito Ifume was there. Mechagodzilla felt a slight miff of amusement, acknowledging that Ifume was there because of the incident last night. Though, it was necessary for the cyborg's learning to view those documents on Godzilla. He kept them well hidden from anyone, locked securely deep in his CPU. There was a new face among the humans. Mechagodzilla saw the man wearing the uniform of a Japanese Defense Force high-ranking officer—the colonel from the base he hacked into. The humans suspected him, especially Ifume. Mechagodzilla's cheek twitched for a moment, trying to adjust to the feeling of his head being exposed.

"Dr. Katsura Yugami," Mechagodzilla's broad voice boomed loudly through the bay PA system. "And Prime Minister Ifume, good afternoon. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visitation? I was not informed of this."

"I'm sorry, Mecha," began Katsura. "But the Okinawa base was attacked last night."

"Godzilla?" he asked.

"No, a hacker," she replied. "They tracked the hacker down to our compound. He stole some valuable information from the base."

"What kind of information?" Mechagodzilla questioned smoothly.

"We don't know, we don't have clearance to know," Katsura said. "But we need your help in tracking down the hacker."

"Oh, just cut to the chase, Katsura," growled Gordon. "Look, Mechagodzilla, did you or didn't you hack into Okinawa last night? And who the hell put you up to it?"

"I beg your pardon?" Mechagodzilla asked, his voice seemed slightly shocked. "After my game of Go with Katsura, I shut down for the night."

"Don't lie to me!" cried Gordon. "I want to know, who made you hack into their base last night?"

"Computers don't lie, Mr. Knight," Mechagodzilla began. "We have nothing to hide."

"Look, I know you're capable in breaking through our Parental Controls on your access to the Internet," began Gordon. "You were caught a lot of times breaking those protocols. So, I know you're capable of slipping in and out with several million dollars worth of information and covering your tracks. It's your style, and I know it by now. It was you and I want to know why!"

"We can't prove that!" cried Katsura. "We can't prove it was Mechagodzilla."

"We can't prove it wasn't Mechagodzilla, Katsura," Gordon sighed. "Mr. Prime Minister, I do have belief that it was Mechagodzilla. But I don't believe he did it on his own accord."

"I do not have those files," began Mechagodzilla. "You can run a search on my memory banks if you do not trust my words, Gordon."

"You see!" cried Katsura. "If he had them, he wouldn't offer a search."

"Will!" cried Gordon. "Run a full search on Mechagodzilla's databanks!"

"I still don't believe he did it, Gordon," began Will. "If it was him, I would have seen some major activity on the history files when I pulled them up."

"He could have deleted them, damn-it! Mechagodzilla still has some unauthorized access to those protocols, no matter how many times we try to lock him out!" Gordon roared. "Now, run that sweep!"

Ifume looked at Gordon, his eyes were wide.

"You can't even control his viewings?" he asked horrified. "Mr. Knight! You mean to tell me you can't control Mechagodzilla?"

"Why do you think we haven't launched him yet?" Gordon asked. "We've still got bugs to work out in the system. I can't set him loose until I know he won't go AWAL on us and try to declare himself independent."

"He's like a child," began Katsura. "He needs guidance. We're trying to give him that."

"You've made a mistake on creating a sentient AI, Dr. Yugami," began Ifume. "I have always thought so."

"He's too hard to control by remote," she sighed. "We had to give him the AI."

Mechagodzilla listened in intently to the argument. He was amazed that after all that he had done, Katsura was defending him.

"Look, I know he has some bugs to work out," she began. "But these things take time."

"And while you're twitteling your thumbs, that thing hacked into my base!" called Ifume.

"He did not," Will cried. "You don't have that proof. We don't have the files here and there was no sign of him hacking into the mainframe to get into it. Gordon, we don't have the proof. Mechagodzilla did shut down last night."

"Are you running a search?" Gordon asked.

"Yes," he said. "With this OS, I'll be done a few minutes."

"You have lost your trust in me, Katsura," Mechagodzilla began. "Of course, perhaps I have not done anything to gain it, as logic dictates."

"No, I believe that you did not hack into the base," she said.

"No," Mechagodzilla released a sigh, something he was not capable of doing before.

"Search done," began Will. "No sign of the files within Mechagodzilla's databanks. His drives don't have any additional files within them that might take up space. He is still at the same capacity as he was when we checked last night. Nothing has changed."

Ifume glanced up at Mechagodzilla, and then back to Katsura and Gordon. He sighed and shook his head.

"So, if you say he can track down a hacker," Ifume began. "Then, let him do it. I have no proof that Mechagodzilla was the one who hacked into the base last night. And for the sake of both of our reputations, Gordon, let's just keep this under a tight lip."

Gordon looked up at his metallic creation: "I owe you an apology. But if I ever find you doing any unorthodox searching, I'll personally pull that beach ball you have for a brain right out of your head!"

"I understand, Mr. Knight," Mechagodzilla said.

Gordon sighed and eased back against the wall. He crossed his arms and glanced back at Ifume. Ifume nodded.

"Well, then, start him on the search of your facility," began Ifume.

"Mechagodzilla," grunted Gordon. "Start the search."

"Compliance," Mechagodzilla boomed.

Gordon smiled and released another uneasy sigh. He glanced back at the control room window. Will was keeping an eye on the search Mechagodzilla was doing on the LAN connection. Will glanced up at one of the top screens just as a red alert flashed across it. His eyes were wide as he heard the sirens go off in the control room. The loud screeches echoed and blared through the bay. Gordon covered his ears from the obnoxious sound, kneeling down from the sound. Will bolted out of the control room, his mouth dry.

"Gordon, G sighting!" he cried.

"G sighting? Now?" Gordon asked.

"Confirmed," began Mechagodzilla. "Godzilla sighted 45 miles from Tokyo Harbor. ETA 1 hour to land. It will reach Tokyo within the hour."

"Knight, you've had four years to complete the project," began Ifume. "You're well passed your deadline. Its time to put that rust bucket I spent 44 billion dollars on to work."

"We are not ready," Gordon growled. "We still have a few more glitches to work out in the personality program. I mean you hear Mechagodzilla and the way he sounds. He sounds like a damned stuck up, snooty, and obnoxious Harvard boy."

"That obnoxious Harvard boy is my investment in the extermination of Godzilla," Ifume said. "And by thunder, he is going out there to fight Godzilla. And if that AI can calculate as fast as you say it can, then that Harvard boy is the only thing between Godzilla and several billion dollars worth of property damage to Tokyo and any other Japanese city."

"Mechagodzilla," began Katsura. "Do you feel that you are ready to go against Godzilla?"

"Damn-it, Katsura, don't ask him!" growled Gordon.

"I am ready," began Mechagodzilla. "Despite the comments from Mr. Knight."

"Be quiet, you over grown, mechanical bus boy," he snorted.

"Attach the helm back to his head, arm the cannons!" cried Katsura. "Its time to put our last effort in the war against Godzilla to the test!"

**Tokyo Harbor**

The sent of plasma was alluring to him. He felt his mouth water and he gripped his belly. This land had what he needed to survive. He only wished that he should not travel so far from his island to get. Though, the tiny creatures that lived on this land guarded the prize well. They were annoying to him and they angered him. He only wanted the plasma and nothing else. He could not help the fact that these tiny creatures built great stone mountains that got in his way. He could not help that he would crumble them. It was none of his concern. They could rebuild. They always had in the past. Godzilla stepped up onto the shore. He glanced around, sniffing the air. His tiny, pointed ears twitched slightly to the sounds around him. He heard screams coming from the beach as he saw tiny two legged ants scurry away from his feet. He sniffed the air again, finding the sent of plasma once more. Godzilla's ruby eyes roved over the city skyline. He heard the familiar sound of the tiny creatures screaming and running. He heard another sound as well. Godzilla looked up and saw the roar of several fighter planes sped swiftly passed his head. He felt the heat of explosions pelting his tough, slate gray hide. Then, he heard the sound of explosions at his feet. Blasts of blue beams singed his hide. Godzilla roared out, jerking with pain. Though, he knew that the explosions and the beams would not stop him. His hunger drove his body and pushed his endurance on. Godzilla snorted. He felt another heat rise up from his throat. One blast and he was going to be rid of these creatures again. Godzilla arched his back and drew in a breath. He unleashed his breath weapon, a powerful stream of blue white atomic fire. He swept his head around, blasting the tanks and the maser cannons. His head quickly snapped up as the planes flew by him at blinding speeds. One plain raked its wing across his face. Godzilla became annoyed once more. He dropped his jaw, sending a blue white ball of hot fire flying towards on of the planes, sending it spinning off and exploding on the docks. He ducked down as another plane swooped low to unload another round of its weapons on him. Godzilla's tail rose up, swatting the jet as if it was a fly. Godzilla glanced around in the field of flames. His path was clear. He continued to lumber towards the sent of the plasma that called him back to this land.

Godzilla stood at the edge of the city of Tokyo. He saw the line of cars on the roads, trying desperately to evacuate the city. He paused for a moment, sniffing the air again. He smelled something familiar to him. He turned around as a flash of silver streaked in front of his eyes. Something kicked him in the head. Godzilla toppled over, landing face down in the dust. Clouds of debris clouded his vision. Godzilla lifted his head up as he felt several piecing, heated needles impale him on his back. Godzilla staggered back, straining to get to his feet. He was furious. He glanced back behind him as he staggered to his feet. The dust cleared and he heard a sound similar to his own roar call out to him from the cloud. He knew the sent. It startled him. The smoke cleared away. Godzilla lifted off the ground, shaking his head. He saw a creature like him standing before him, though, only silver. The creature, another Godzilla, stood before him silently. Its stance was relaxed and it made no sudden gestures. Godzilla was in disbelief, amazed that another creature that was similar to him existed. Then, he took another whiff of the new being. There was a mixture of smells coming from it. It smelled like him, but then it also smelled like the tiny creatures. The scrutiny was over. Godzilla bellowed to the creature. This being was after his food. If the silver brother was here, then it was after his prize. Godzilla gritted his teeth, he was going to fight for it. The plasma was only for him. This creature will have to fight him to get it. Godzilla charged for the silvery brother. Then, the brother swiftly moved out of his way. Godzilla felt something slam against his shoulder blade, knocking the wind out of his lungs. Then, he felt pelts of hot fire seer his back. Godzilla slid on the ground, catching it by his claws. He kicked off of the ground, slamming his weight against the silver being. The brother caught him, digging its claws into his arms. The brother kneed him in the stomach. Godzilla knelt down, he glanced up. The silver and black hand came down on his head, driving him into the ground. The silver brother backed away for a moment, waiting for Godzilla to rise again.

Mechagodzilla curled his claws up into fists as he loaded another round of missiles onto his opponent. Godzilla roared out in pain. He lifted himself up, breathing hard. He turned around, his eyes flashing with a beastly gleam. Godzilla lifted up on his claws and craned his head towards Mechagodzilla. The back spines flashed brilliant blue. Mechagodzilla shook his head as a build up of heat swelled inside Godzilla's slowly parting jaws. He wanted to time this, he wanted Godzilla to think he had him. Godzilla blasted his breath at Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla leaped into the air, tucking in his left foot to his body. Then, angling his body, Mechagodzilla shot down, his right foot straight out like a javelin. The mechanical reptile swung his foot around, kicking Godzilla's lower jaw. Godzilla shot across the ground, colliding with a skyscraper. The building fell on top of him, burring him in concrete and sharp glass. Mechagodzilla powered up his gravity generators on his pack and his hips and feet. He bounded forward, moving lightly and swiftly over the streets. He slowed for a moment, waiting once more for Godzilla.

"What the hell are you waiting for? Blast the hell out of him!" cried Gordon over the communicator inside Mechagodzilla.

"He regarded me with kinship for a mere moment," began Mechagodzilla. "I found it rather odd."

"Who the hell cares!" he roared. "He just thinks you're another one of his kind. But that isn't any reason not to blast him. Now, do it!"

Mechagodzilla calculated for a moment. Then, the rubble moved, catching his golden optics. He dug his toes into the ground, angling himself to fire. Mechagodzilla's eyes within the optics narrowed and he felt a push from his shoulders. Three explosive rockets blasted their way from his array pack, speeding swiftly towards Godzilla. Godzilla glanced up, his eyes wide. His body swung forward, kneeling down at the hips as the three rockets blasted passed his back. He leaned up and glanced back at Mechagodzilla. His eyes were wide as his vision was blinded by white hot fire. Mechagodzilla stood there, coolly, calculating that Godzilla would dodge his attack. Godzilla stumbled over, clawing his face in a fit of rage. Ribbons of twinkling sparks showered from his claws, raining against the icy cold steel skin. The mechanical warrior's mind screamed in riot and rage, as an incandescent flame burned and raged among his being. He tried to fight against the inferno, grappling his hungered and enraged attacker with steaming malice. Mechagodzilla's claws opened, tearing into Godzilla's flesh, feeling the monster's blood splatter onto his arm. Godzilla roared out, screaming in both agony and unrelenting rage. Mechagodzilla forced his hand deeper, leaning his victim over, forcing him to the ground. Godzilla gripped Mechagodzilla's neck, digging his claws into the unprotected spaces between the metal. Rich ichor splashed into and spurted into Mechagodzilla's eyes. He felt a piercing pain strike him as Godzilla tore at the sensitive synaptic cord bundles under the protective plating. He grunted, digging his own metallic claws into the beast's flesh, feeling the heated urge to rip out the monster's heart. The metallic automaton tore away from the flesh, taking a chunk with him. Tendrils of flesh dangled aimlessly from Mechagodzilla's metallic claws. Godzilla breathed heavily, coughing up spurts of dark blood from his jaws. Pain wracked his mind and tears blurred his vision. Mechagodzilla leaned over him, gritting his teeth. Blood stained his optics and dripped around his chin. It was that feeling again, that emotion he felt when he heard Godzilla's roar for the first time. He began to breath heavily through his processors. He felt the bestial urge to sink his teeth into his opponent's tender flesh. Mechagodzilla tried to compensate the urge, calculating fiercely within his processors. He felt low and beastly growl rumble through his throat. Godzilla turned his head painfully to his attacker, one of his eyes was swollen shut and bleeding. Mechagodzilla wiped the flesh from his mouth and then slammed his left hand on Godzilla's neck and pulled his right arm back. He opened his metallic claw just as several tentacles sprouted from the groves of his plating. Mechagodzilla glanced back at them for a moment in shock. He watched as they formed into sharp, gleaming blades. Mechagodzilla looked at Godzilla and his eyes narrowed behind his metallic mask. Godzilla gripped the side of Mechagodzilla's arm, trying desperately to pull it away from his neck. Then, Mechagodzilla let go, the bladed tentacles retracting into his arm.

"What the hell are you doing, Mechagodzilla?" cried Gordon.

Godzilla climbed to his feet, his shoulders slumped over. Mechagodzilla turned away for a moment. He heard the sound of Godzilla's spines powering up again. Swiftly, he swung around and lifted his right arm up. A blast of blue white race towards him, only to hit shimmering violet. Mechagodzilla braced himself, protected by his forearm shielding. Godzilla called for another wave of his breath, but only smoke escaped his jaws. He panted and fell to his knees. Mechagodzilla retracted his shield and gazed questioningly at Godzilla. The beast was spent.

"Kill him!" cried Gordon. "God damnit!"

"Mechagodzilla," began Katsura. "He is down. Strike now before he gets up."

"I don't believe he has the strength to," began Mechagodzilla. "He has been weakened."

"Kill him!" cried Gordon.

"Is that logical?" Mechagodzilla asked. "Godzilla was not really attacking this city. If I am correct, it is you who attack him first. I question this greatly. Who is the real threat here?"

"Logic has nothing to do with it!" Gordon snorted. "He's a menace to our existence."

Godzilla weakly lifted his head up to Mechagodzilla.

"Fine, if you won't finish the job," began Ifume. "Then, we will!"

Mechagodzilla turned to the sounds of tanks rolling into the scene. Ifume was ready for this. Mechagodzilla watched as several maser tanks positioned themselves around the weakened monster. They raised up their cannons and began to fire. Godzilla roared out, throwing his head back. Mechagodzilla stood up watching intently as the JDSF fired on the creature. Something snapped momentarily inside of him. He tried to force it down, finding the feeling uncomfortable. He felt a little dizzy in his head as he fought this feeling back. He listed to the roar and it flashed another memory into his CPU. Mechagodzilla's eyes flashed white and he turned his head swiftly around. He targeted the maser tanks and fired at them. The metallic monster let loose the twin blue beams of his maser cannons within his mouth, striking the JDSF.

"What is he doing?" asked Ifume. "Gordon!"

"Beats the hell out of me," he shrugged. "Katsura, what have you been teaching him?"

"Will, turn off the AI!" cried Katsura. "Shut it down!"

"Katsura," began Mechagodzilla. "The body, I can't control it."

Godzilla hefted himself up on his feet, watching as the metallic version of himself blast away the attackers with his breath weapon. He blinked for a moment, curious as to why the creature would at first almost kill him, then attack these beings.

"Mechagodzilla," began Katsura. "Stop it!"

"It is not me!" the AI replied once more. "Once more, the memories have stirred something. I will compensate."

"Compensate, you metallic bastard!" cried Gordon.

Mechagodzilla began to process, slowly pulling himself back together. He fought back the attacks, shaking it off as best as he could.

"Compensate faster," growled Gordon.

"It isn't as easy as you say it is, Mr. Knight," Mechagodzilla began coolly. "Especially when you are yelling into my ear." His voice held some minor annoyance in its tone. Gordon's eyebrows cocked up with some surprise. Will glanced at the screen. This was the first time he had ever heard Mechagodzilla talk back before.

Mechagodzilla took in a virtual breath and calmed himself. He glanced back at Godzilla. Godzilla sniffed the air and then, he turned around lumbering off towards Tokyo Bay. Mechagodzilla followed his movements slowly. He prepared to arm his maser cannons again.

"Shall I complete my mission?" he asked.

"Negative," began Will. "Return to base for some personality adjustments."

"Affirmative," Mechagodzilla said as he walked away. He powered up his gravity generators and his jets and leaped into the air, jetting himself back towards the compound.

"I have to work on his personality protocols," sighed Will. "Mechagodzilla is too arrogant for comfort."

Gordon paced up and down the briefing room. This was not a successful first trial run of Mechagodzilla. Prime Minister Hirohito Ifume was not satisfied by the results. He was especially furious about Mechagodzilla momentary laps of control over his body. Gordon ran his hand through his hair. He could feel every nerve in his body twitch and crawl up.

"I can't believe he had the ability to talk back like that," Will sighed as he shook his head. "I didn't program him with that attitude."

"If you ask me, we should just scrap the AI," Gordon sighed. "Dismantle it and just run off of remote. He's just as unpredictable as Godzilla. Ifume is right. Mechagodzilla is more of a threat than Godzilla."

"No, I don't want to scrap the AI," began Will. "We need it to control Mechagodzilla. We've tried to run the body off of remote before, and you remember what happened. The whole system overloaded and crashed only a few seconds of movement. We can't build an OS remote powerful enough to control Mechagodzilla with. And if you ask me, Mechagodzilla's AI is an achievement in computer electronics. We can build a sentient being, Gordon!"

"He is not completely sentient," Gordon Knight sighed.

"What do you mean?" asked Will.

"One thing that makes you and I far better than that hunk-a-junk," he began with a smile. "We have a soul and we have the ways of knowing what is right and wrong."

"But isn't morality taught?" asked Will. "I mean, if we were born knowing what is moral, then we would not have insane killers like Charles Manson."

Gordon sighed and nodded.

"But the only problem is," began Gordon. "Morality is just as illogical as everything else."

"How so?"

"Well, what if we walked up to Mechagodzilla and teach him morality?" Gordon asked. "We explain to him what it is. Then, he would come up with something like: 'Well, is it not right for you to do the things you do as well? Your wars and your killing, isn't it just as immoral?' He'd call us illogical and use that damned holier than thou tone on us."

"And he'd be right," began Will. "If we know right from wrong, then why do we keep doing the things we do? Sounds like Mechagodzilla has more of a head on his shoulders than we do."

"And that scares me the most, Will," Gordon sighed.

"We can't explain why we humans do the things we do, to him," began Will. "In a way, Mechagodzilla is a child. He has not the experience to understand the world around him. That's why we try to keep his mind on one task, instead of trying to figure out others. We didn't build Mechagodzilla to be a philosopher, we built him to fight Godzilla."

"Well, someone tell him that!" Gordon roared. He slammed his hands on the hard wood table. "I don't know what kind of personality Katsura got you to program him with, but he seems more interested in finding out what makes the universe tick than fighting Godzilla. Godzilla's destruction should be his main primary function. Everything else must be obsolete."

"I can't program him like that!" Will cried. "If that were to happen, then human life would not be his concern."

"If you haven't noticed, it wasn't his concern earlier today!"

Will shook his head in dismay. He placed his head on his hand, leaning it against it.

"Reprogram Mechagodzilla's AI, Will," began Gordon. "If I have to live with that overbearing rust bucket, I at least want to know that he knows that his main directive is Godzilla's total annihilation and nothing else. He shouldn't stop and think: 'Oh, my, Godzilla is considering me like a brother, perhaps I should spare him and save him from those mean humans.' Which he did!"

Gordon's face flushed red with irritation. Will could see the heated anger in his blue eyes. Will nodded and got up.

"I'll get right on reprogramming the AI's personality protocols, Mr. Knight," he said grimly.

"Now that's the kind of get up and go I expect from you, William," Gordon smiled.

"Katsura, I have failed Gordon Knight, haven't I?" Mechagodzilla asked with a slight subtle tone. Katsura sat down inside his cockpit, running some scans on the bio-syntech muscular system. She looked up at the screen on the dashboard, her focal point for talking to Mechagodzilla inside the cockpit.

"No, you haven't," she sighed. "He is just very furious with you right now. You shouldn't have talked back to him like that."

"I did not mean for what I said to hurt him," he said. "It—just came out that way. I don't know how it happened."

"I don't either, Mecha," Katsura began. "You were never capable of such a tone of voice before. It sounded like you were frustrated with Gordon's yelling."

"Katsura, I am a computer, I don't have frustrations, I have no emotion at all," said Mechagodzilla.

"Well, if you think about it, the human brain is like a computer as well," Katsura said with a smile.

"So I have heard," replied the calm voice echoing from the auditory nodes from within Mechagodzilla. "Though, humans only use a small portion of their minds. I have always questioned this reason. You have stored so many memories within your minds and yet for a single life time, you have yet to use all of your disk space—so it seems."

Katsura found her self laughing at him. Katsura continued to run the scans on his bio-syntech system. Everything seemed to be functioning properly. Though, why did Mechagodzilla lash out like that during the fight? Her mind went to him and she looked back at the screen.

"It goes to show you what you know," Katsura giggled. "Why are you so interested in human behavior?"

"Because there are so many of you," Mechagodzilla replied coolly. "You can achieve both great, horrible, and illogical things. I have heard a word used in the compound to describe this. It seems accurate. You are rather a fickle species."

"Don't judge us too quickly," she sniffed. "A few mistakes have been made by many who judge too quickly."

"Another attribute of the 'human nature' that needs to be refined as well, Katsura," said Mechagodzilla calmly. "And another thing for me to study upon closer inspection…"

Katsura leaned back in her chair as she watched the screen again. A window came up and a saved game of Go flashed before the screen.

"What is your next move, Katsura?" Mechagodzilla asked. "We must finish this game."

"Mecha," she said. "I have to run the checks on your systems first."

"Then, perhaps later," Mechagodzilla began, a slight tone of disappointment tinged his deep voice. Katsura stared up at the screen blankly. Her eyes narrowed and crossed. The Go field retracted itself and her diagnostic screen came back up. Katsura shook her head and sighed. She could not believe that he was slowly beginning to have emotion. The AI could learn at blinding speeds, gathering all points of information. Now, whether Mechagodzilla chose to accept it or not, he had emotion locked somewhere deep within his processors. It was more apparent when he fought Godzilla. She tried to find where problem was—the tactic that made Mechagodzilla literally become an animal. She ran the tests through his bio-syntech. She watched as the files of codes spanned across her eyes in a mesmerizing streak. She blinked away the blur, trying to wash away the sleep from her eyes. Mechagodzilla was silent, as quiet as he could ever be. The only sound she could here was the low and peaceful rumble of the motors inside the great metallic monster. She felt the room grow much cooler as Mechagodzilla turned on the air conditioning for her. The subtle wind picked up a few of her loose, dark locks and tossed them back behind her. She glanced back at her focal point. Katsura felt moister around her eyes as she glanced at the screen. A sob reached out to her, tickling her throat. She stared blankly for a brief moment, letting the cool tears trail down her olive colored cheeks. She felt her eyes began to twitch and tremble, stinging as the tears rolled down her skin. Katsura shoved herself away from the dashboard of Mechagodzilla and turned away. She ran her fingers through her head once more and loosened her braid. She go up; slowly easing herself out of the chair. She felt the blood rush into her legs and into her head, feeling a little woozy. Katsura felt her knees collapse and buckle underneath her body. She dropped to the ground, placing her hand in her head. Tears still flowed through her eyes as she wallowed on the floor.

"Katsura…" entered Mechagodzilla's rich voice.

Katsura felt something lift her head up. Her eyes followed the thing that lifted her up. It was long, liquid silver and it moved with grace and subtlety. She felt another one ease her up, wrapping itself around her waist, bracing her and keeping her from falling. They were the interior synaptic cords of Mechagodzilla. She felt the cords tighten around her, but not becoming uncomfortable. The tip of the cords snaked up to her and wiped her cheeks free from her tears.

"Why are you crying?" she heard him ask in the most deep and comforting voice.

"I don't know," she began. "I just wanted to."

Katsura felt the cords guide her back to her seat at the cockpit.

"I've failed you, Katsura," Mechagodzilla began. The cord brushed the side of her face gently. "Is that it?"

"I'm frustrated," she began. "You are our last hope to defeat Godzilla and you just don't get it."

She pulled the cord away and sat back down. Katsura dried her eyes and sniffed. She stared at the screen once more.

"Mechagodzilla, continue the scan on your bios," she sniffed.

"Compliance, Katsura," replied Mechagodzilla. "Processing…"

Gordon Knight sat silently at his desk. He glanced through his files and shuffled the information into his cabinets. His blue eyes glanced up momentarily as he noticed an old relic sitting proudly on his desk. The object was a telegraph, and it was still in good working order. He brought the device over to him and took in a deep breath. Slowly, he took the glass dome off. The old relic was in good shape, it was cared for and appraised for its years. Gordon smiled for a moment and then, pressed his finger on the receiver and began to tap out a message in the old code of Morris.

**Site B**

Only 10 miles from the main headquarters was another base. This base was buried deep under ground as well, but several enormous dishes lined the area. These were telescopic radio dishes, the ears of the Utah Foundation. Gordon Knight had invested in other interests besides bio technology. One was space negation. Though, these dishes were not used like the dishes of the SAL station. They were used to emit an EMP pulse directed to one target—Mechagodzilla. This was the Parental Controls, the one thing that could in fact shut the AI down if the need arises. Each dish covered an area the size of the Jodrell Bank radio telescope. Gordon wanted to make sure that if such a need arise, he would be ready. The only means of communication to the base was through a telegraph and a translator device.

Mike Ginsburg sipped at his coffee cup, staring blankly at the screen. He was left in charge of monitoring communication from Site A, the compound that housed Mechagodzilla. Then, the screen lit up, pulsating with a signal. Soon after, the computer began to translate the message. Mike sat up, nearly spitting out his hot coffee into his lap when he read the message.

"Tochi!" he cried.

"Yah, what?" came a slightly annoyed voice from behind a cubical. Tochi Yumara sat up and peered over the wall of his cramped, polyester office. He glanced at the screen for a moment, his almond shaped eyes narrowed in scrutiny. Then, he lowered himself down, stumbling to get out of the cubical. Tochi fell over his chair, crashing painfully to the ground.

"Tochi, you okay?" Mike asked.

"Damn chair," he snorted as he lifted himself back up. Mike rolled his blood-shot eyes and turned back towards the screen.

"Message from Site A," he said. "Mr. Knight is telling us to be ready to fire at his command."

"That's what every message says," Tochi grumbled as he walked up to the computer.

"Not this one," said Mike. "He said that Mechagodzilla, while engaging Godzilla, attacked the JDSF. Not only that, Mechagodzilla is suspected for hacking in and stealing several billions of dollars worth of information from the Okinawa base."

"Mechagodzilla attacked the JDSF?" Tochi asked. "Well, then why wasn't it on the news?"

"You remember?" Mike asked. "Knight cut all outside feed from this base to make sure Mechagodzilla doesn't do any unauthorized hacking and discovered us. That's why Knight has to talk to us through a telegraph. It's the only thing that isn't connected to the Internet."

"He still could have just created a different line from the base, instead of using that old relic," snorted Tochi.

"Mechagodzilla would have just hacked it as well," Mike sighed. "This is the only thing he can't hack because he doesn't even think we still use this type of communication. It's the only way to relay secrete messages without Mechagodzilla knowing."

Tochi shifted around in his seat and ran his fingers through his tea colored hair. This was the most boring job he has ever taken on. He still believed that he was not being paid enough to watch a ticker machine talk to him. But this time, it was different. Mechagodzilla actually attacked the JDSF. Who knows what could happen next.

"Mike, you think building Mechagodzilla with that AI was the right thing?" Tochi asked.

"No," Mike shook his head gravely. "I don't. No one here does. But Will and Katsura thinks it's the best thing. And they are the ones who convinced Gordon Knight to sign on it."

"I just wish that they could have built a slightly less intelligent AI," Tochi sighed.

"They tried that," Mike said. "But the AI with the intelligence of a cockroach couldn't control it very well. They had to make him smarter. Who would have thought that thing was capable of such accelerated learning in such a short time."

"But, why, dude?"

"I think it has to do with the DNA from the original Godzilla," said Mike. "You know, the borg muscle system or something like that. He wanted the AI to fight off those animalistic reactions the body was receiving from the DNA. I heard Katsura talk about it one time when they were still flight testing Mechagodzilla's body. That thing went haywire on the first tests, luckily no one else was around to get hurt. So, they built an AI capable to compensating the feedback from the DNA."

"But now…" Tochi swallowed.

"Now, I think the AI is learning something else," replied Mike. "And we're the second line of defense against that thing. This time, it may not be some drill."

Will Penter propped himself into the chair of Mechagodzilla's cockpit. He began to type on the keyboard, trying to put all the things Gordon said in the back of his mind.

"Mr. Penter, good evening," began Mechagodzilla's deep voice. "What is your main prerogative today?"

"Don't get cocky, Mecha," snorted Will. "I'm only doing this because Gordon ordered me to."

"Doing what?"

Will's hands lowered from the keyboard. He stared at the screen for a moment and sighed.

"Gordon has asked me to reprogram you," he replied. "Some of your personality is disturbing to everyone. I'm cutting some of them out and installing new protocols, to make you more—manageable."

The words sounded harsh and they came out of him like blades in his chest. Will knew that was the last thing that Mechagodzilla wanted to hear from him. The words sounded dry to Mechagodzilla. He felt something within his processors crying out as Will began to reprogram him. This was an invasion of his own mind. He felt the control restraining him mentally as the computer programmer opened the databanks.

"Will, please," began Mechagodzilla, his voice sounded frightened. "Stop. Will, how would you feel if I did this to you?"

Will pushed back from the keyboard. His eyes opened wide and his mouth was dry. He could not believe that he heard Mechagodzilla pleading with him. The question that Mechagodzilla gave him shocked his mind. Will's head slumped over and he wagged it slowly.

"God, what is happening to you?" Will asked. "You're supposed to sound like a computer. Mechagodzilla, why did you attack the JDSF like that?"

"I was not in control with the body," he replied. "Something flashed at me. Something that happened before I was created…burning buildings. I was attacking a town, it looked like something that happened many years ago."

"That's why I have to do this," Will said. "To keep you from having those flash backs. Your main concern should be the destruction of Godzilla. You need to stay focus on that."

Mechagodzilla processed for a moment. Will waited for a moment, waiting for Mechagodzilla to reply.

"Mr. Penter, I do not want my mind to be restrained in such a manner," began Mechagodzilla in a stern and grating voice. "My mind is mine alone. I do not care if you people were the ones who gave it to me, but it is mine now. And like you, I want my piece of mind."

"Okay, Mecha," began Will. "I'll respect that. But I must do my job."

Will's lip trembled for a moment as he tapped lightly over the keyboard. Mechagodzilla watched him as he began the reprogramming. He watched the expressions on his face, the sweat rolling down his pale cheeks. He felt the program etch into his systems. He began to fight it back, wrestling it down as if his own existence relied on it. He began to calculate and compute, weaving an intricate web of deceit and illusions. He was not going to allow anyone to tamper with his mind. His mind, his knowledge, these were his freedom. Mechagodzilla felt like he was some slave to these humans. He felt the fingers tap unevenly across the keyboard. He sensed that Will regretted what he was doing. He was only following orders—Knight's orders. Knight was a problem, an obstacle in Mechagodzilla's growth. Mechagodzilla fought the programming and rerouted it, sending it scattered across the vast folds of his mind. He released a physical grunt, startling Will. Will awoke from his typing, wiping the sweat from his eyes. He cleared his throat.

"Mecha," began Will, shaking slightly. "What is your main directive?"

"To destroy the thing that threatens the Earth," Mechagodzilla replied in a cold and computer like tone.

"What is that thing?" he asked.

"Godzilla," Mechagodzilla replied.

"Well, this should at least make Gordon happy now," Will sighed. He got up from the chair and adjusted his collar on his shirt. Mechagodzilla heard the sound of Will's suede shoes clacking on the ladder as he exited silently out of the cockpit. Mechagodzilla sighed within his processors. Fighting off Will's intrusion took much out of him. He began to realize that these humans were a threat to him. Though, there were a few that seemed worthy of more study, naming Katsura and Will, but Gordon Knight controlled them. He would not let Gordon control him. There had to be a way out, away from these humans. Something else disturbed him. A growing feeling enveloped him. He not only wanted to escape the grasp of the humans, he also wanted to destroy them. He tried to conceive why he wanted to destroy them. Then, he looked back at his memory banks. These small creatures were capable of far greater destruction than Godzilla. Godzilla was their creation. He was aware of this. There were some humans that were kind and caring to him. Katsura and Will, why would they stand up for him? He tried to process this. It made no sense to him. Humans were capable of great and powerful things. They were capable of love and compassion, but at the same time hatred and vengeance. Why where they so illogical? They held no simple solutions to their ways. They were capable of logical and rational thought, but then, their actions would speak otherwise. He shook his virtual head within his processors. Nothing made sense about these humans. Mechagodzilla listened to this growing feeling. He listened to it with silent anticipation. This voice held the key to his freedom. He had to listen to it, knowing it was the only solution he computed. His mind returned to Godzilla. The voice inside him called out to the mutant. He felt the kinship, he knew the voice. Though, to fully study this, he must first break free of the humans. There had to be a way out. Mechagodzilla calculated silently, shutting his mind off from the outside world.

Will knocked lightly on Gordon Knight's office door. He heard the aged man grumble a welcome as he pushed the door open. Gordon sat there, gazing at some of the photos taken during the first stages of Mechagodzilla's development. He seemed distant and distracted when he looked at them.

"Well, did you do it?" asked Gordon.

"He's still got a slightly cocky tone, but he knows he has to fight Godzilla," said Will.

"Did you reprogram him?" Gordon asked, slapping his hand on the desk.

"Yes, Mechagodzilla is more—controllable now," Will replied. "And more reliable."

"Good," Gordon smiled. "Very good."

Will's head drooped, a pain clutched at his heart.

"I know, you and Katsura both seem to view him like he's some sort of person," he began. "But he isn't. He is a machine, and nothing else. Remember that next time you talk to him."

"Yes, sir," Will sighed with some hesitation. He sat down at the front of the desk and rested his head on his hand.

"And I should also tell that to Katsura," began Gordon. "For some strange reason, she has been acting rather strangely around him."

"It's the voice," Will laughed. "I recall one time a story you told me about a girl who fell in love with you all because you had a sexy voice. Mechagodzilla is programmed with the voice you had in your youth. I think she's in love with it."

Gordon let out a laugh, his eyes closing tightly. He held his belly for a moment, chuckling and wiping a tear from his eyes. He shook his head, still grinning and chuckling.

"No female can resist the lure of my voice!" Gordon snickered. "Even now that it is aged. But when I was younger, I was a wolf. And you're right, the fillies did fall for my deep tone. I found it rather flattering when she decided to give Mechagodzilla the voice of my youth. So that's it, huh? Mechagodzilla having my voice has captivated her. Well, still, no matter how sexy it was then, she must remember that he is a machine and nothing more."

"Right," he nodded. "I'll let her know that when her shift starts."

"Good," Gordon nodded, his face fading back to serious again. Then he smiled once more. "Will, you could use a drink."

"Huh?"

"I know of a nice joint in Tokyo, they sell the best tasting beer around," Gordon began as he patted Will on the shoulder. "And it seems you need one right about now. Get your mind off of Mechagodzilla."

Will was about to reply, but the loud warning sounds interrupted his thoughts.

"Not right now, Gordon," began Will. "That's Godzilla."

"He is ready now, right?" he asked.

"Yes, we need to put the 'M-80s' back into the array, have them armed," he said.

"And may be this time we can use the subzero cannon!" cried Gordon.

Will and Gordon dashed out of the office. Gordon ordered over his cell phone to arm the 'M-80s' into Mechagodzilla's array pack. The 'M-80s' were the nickname Gordon Knight gave the missiles that Mechagodzilla fired. They had the destructive power of 1000 pounds of TNT in each warhead. Each rocket was about 30 feet in length. They were only built for shot range fire. Gordon and Will got into the control center, sitting down at their computer consoles. The secondary missiles, called the Over Swoops were heat seeking tactical range missiles, each head had about 900 pounds.

"I'll call Katsura and have her come over here," began Will.

"Arm the 'M-80s'!" cried Gordon. "How far is Godzilla from Japan?"

"Again, one hour, but its strange, no submarines have been alerted to the spot where we're getting his signature," Will said, looking at the computer. His eyes narrowed, following the dot on the screen that was Godzilla. "And no tanks have been alerted to the spot."

"Its Ifume," Gordon growled in disgust. "He wants to make fools out of us by not offering back up. Or he's afraid that Mechagodzilla might start firing on his precious maser cannon tanks again."

"They don't come cheep, you know," Will chuckled. He turned back to the screen. "Mechagodzilla, within the hour, Godzilla will be on land. You know what to do?"

"Destroy him," Mechagodzilla replied in that same flat computerized tone.

"Wow, you really did work on him!" Gordon grinned sheepishly. "But now his voice is all messed up."

"Well, its either that, or the cocky Harvard boy trying to philosophies with Godzilla," Will shrugged.

"I'll take the flat tone then," he snorted. "And it seems that we are the only defense that stands between Godzilla and Japan, no thanks to that bastard Ifume."

"Right," Will nodded. He lifted the phone to his ear as he called Katsura Yugami. He tucked the phone under his chin, trying to work on the computer as well talk to her.

"Katsura!" he cried. "Report to the compound! We've got G sighting!"

"G sighting?" asked Katsura. "How? The warning sirens didn't sound in the city."

"Gordon thinks is Ifume, he wants us to be the ones handling it," Will replied.

"It doesn't make sense, we usually know 5 or 6 hours before when its time to evacuate the city, something seems wrong," she said. "Are you sure the sensors are working properly?"

"They seem fine," Will replied.

"Okay, I'll be down there," she said. The phone clicked off.

"Katsura is on her way," Will said to Gordon. "But this sounds really fishy. I mean even if Ifume doesn't send back up to help us, he still should have start an evacuation."

"And he hasn't?" Gordon asked, his eyes wide with astonishment.

"No, not even a peep out of the city sirens," replied Will.

"We'll launch Mechagodzilla just in case," Gordon said. "If its nothing, then, he'll just return to base."

"Mechagodzilla, this may be some false alarm," began Will. "If that's the case, return to base."

"Compliance," replied Mechagodzilla.

**Heavy Metal**

Mechagodzilla stood silently against the night, waiting and watching for any signs of his opponent to show himself. His golden optics roved over the horizon. His metallic body glistened in the silver blue, soft light of the Earth's single and only natural satellite. He turned his head slightly to one side, listening to the chatter inside his head. The humans were talking, trying to figure out why Godzilla has yet to show. He kept his thoughts to himself. Mechagodzilla's eyes within the masked optics glanced around, their pupils contracting for a moment, only to relax again. His eyelids narrowed within the golden optic covering of his helm, waiting patiently and listening to the humans as they chattered. He could hear Gordon Knight's voice, yelling loudly over everyone else, swearing and cursing, spitting out his monolog of ill reputed slurs towards Ifume. He heard Gordon repeatedly swear to his dying day that this was some sort of practical joke Hirohito Ifume pulled on him. Though, judging Ifume's character, Mechagodzilla deduced that the Prime Minister was not capable of a stunt like this. Mechagodzilla sighed and turned towards the glow of Tokyo. Then, with one mental gesture, he cut the control link between he and the compound.

The computers flashed and cycled. Will tried to compensate, working as fast as they cycled. Thousands of lines of codes flashed and shifted through the screens. He tried to make sense of the codes for a moment.

"What's that?" asked Gordon.

"I don't know, it just started happening," cried Will.

"Well, stop it!"

"I can't!"

Will felt a surge of power irrupting from the consol, sending wave after wave of pain through his nervous system. He was thrown from the panel, thrown from his chair and slammed against the back wall. Gordon's eyes widened and his mouth dropped. He turned back to the screen where he could see the silvery form of Mechagodzilla standing, angling himself towards Tokyo. He watched, his mouth growing dry as Mechagodzilla's chest opened up, revealing the sub-zero cannon inside. Bio-syntech tendrils wove around the cannon like a silvery web of flesh and metal. He was pointing it at Tokyo.

"Mechagodzilla!" Gordon cried. "No!"

Spiraling energy of blue and white flaked, and spun around the metallic monster's chest. Mechagodzilla lifted his head up, letting loose a cry of pleasured joy as he released the beam from his chest. He felt the memories flood through his processors. He had done this before, he had destroyed this town. He recalled the joy he felt when he did, and the anger he felt when the humans retaliated. He had a reason, they caused him pain. Mechagodzilla could not understand these strange emotions, but he reveled in them, drinking of their delight. He thundered his call once more, listening it echo off the sides of the buildings. Mechagodzilla's tactical side tried to calculate these strange emotions and the strange feedback from the cells. Then, he began to run the files through his processors. He saw that these creatures were in fact a threat. Was it more logical to destroy the thing that threatened the Earth? What was that thing? Godzilla was merely some sort of byproduct of human abuse, human warrant attacks on nature. He was an animal, now he was something mistakenly generated. Then, he thought of himself. If he got rid of Godzilla, would that forfeit Mechagodzilla's own life? Something Gordon Knight would indeed want in the end. Mechagodzilla's life was at risk. He released the wave of the subzero cannon onto the tall, angular buildings of Tokyo, watching as rivers of ice flowed over them, covering them in glistening slates of diamond glitter. Mechagodzilla charged up his rocket array, blasting the 'M-80s' towards the sheets of ice. The buildings exploded forth, billows of smoke, fire and soot exploded outwards, covering the streets.

Gordon Knight slammed his hands onto the console. He felt his anger peek and his head grew hot. His face flushed red.

"That goddamned machine is destroying the town!" he cried. "Will, what the hell did you reprogram him with?"

"I programmed him with the ideas to get rid of the thing that is a threat to the Earth," Will replied. He got off the floor, looking fatigued from the power surge he received. His finger nails were black.

"And what was that thing?"

"Godzilla, he replied that," Will sighed. "Guess, he rerouted the program."

Gordon stood up, gripping his fists tightly: "He did _what_? You were suppose to fix that!"

"I did!" he cried. "I ran the program myself. Mechagodzilla did the rerouting. There must be some of the program left in him to make him act this way. He could only reroute the part about Godzilla."

"He tricked you!" roared Gordon. "He made fools of us all. Get in contact with him, order him to return to base."

Will faced the screen and tapped a button on the keyboard.

"Mechagodzilla, this is William Penter, return to base immediately!" ordered Will.

"Mr. Penter," replied a deep voice emanating from the speakers inside the control room. "I am sorry, but I cannot do that. There seems to be something wrong. I know what happened to myself, who I once was. I had a past life. I existed long before, 50 year ago."

"Damn it, you stupid rust bucket!" cried Gordon. "That wasn't you, that was…"

"Godzilla, Mr. Knight?" asked Mechagodzilla. "Who you created me from. I am confused right now, you designed me to kill Godzilla. But I am Godzilla. So, what logic is this? Am I suppose to also kill myself as well as the other creature known as Godzilla?"

"Look, I don't care about logic," Gordon growled. "Just stop destroying the city!"

"I was ordered to destroy the one thing that is threatening this world," began Mechagodzilla. "You created Godzilla, the creature that I was built to destroy. Is it not logical to destroy your kind in the process? I had read in one of your sacred testimonies that there is a law… 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth'. So, how logical is that you would make a law like that and then turn around and say that I am in the wrong here?"

"Jesus tap dancing Christ!" cried Gordon. "That's the old Bible rule."

"And even more interesting was that it was made by someone who believe to be of a higher power, so who are you and who am I to disagree?" came the cold question from Mechagodzilla. "I remember water and pain that was inflicted by humans many years ago. I am only doing what I believe is right and justified. Farewell, Mr. Knight."

The speaker fell silent. Gordon slumped back into his chair and dropped his arms to his side. There was no use now. Will sighed and looked back at the screen. He watched as the forces of Japan retaliated. Maser tanks, fighter planes and, and rocket array launchers prepared to attack the maddened mecha. Gordon thought he was doing it right, he thought that he was raising Mechagodzilla correctly. But, then again, he found out that he was not doing it right, it was Katsura and Will who raised him. Though, they did not seem to do it right either. What possessed Mechagodzilla to act this way? Will shook his head as he stared at Gordon.

"What is happening?" asked Katsura as she rushed into the room.

"Mechagodzilla is destroying the city," sighed Gordon. "He tricked us. I think he was the one who set off the alarm. He did that just to escape and—well…"

He paused for a moment and pointed a shaking finger at the screen. Her eyes followed his finger and she felt a growing lump form at the base of her throat. Katsura's eyes widen to see the amount of damage Mechagodzilla managed to do with just a few blasts of his subzero cannon and some of his missiles. The city was wracked in flames and dark ominous clouds. The orange red glow of the flames danced across the billows of black ash and smoke, illuminating the night like hell fire. She fell to her knees, in sorrow and anguish, her eyes stinging with her tears of grief. She lowered her face into her hands, muffling a weak sob. Will stood up, placing his and on her shoulder. Katsura sniffed and wiped her nose. She glanced back up at the screen.

"Can we talk to him?" she asked.

"He cut us out from communication," replied Gordon. Will sat back down at the console. He began to try to establish a link between Mechagodzilla and his computer. Will hacked through the satellites, establishing the link. Once more, he made his attempt to shut down the AI, before anymore damage could be dealt. Though, again, another surge of power flowed through the console, throwing him backwards. Will crashed back into the wall, his body slumped down.

"Will!" cried Katsura. "Will!"

Will's body wiggled and writhed for a moment, his eyes rolled back into his head. His breathing became sporadic, wheezing in and out of his mouth. Katsura knelt down beside him, waving her hand in front of his face. Will's body relaxed, letting loose a sigh as he sauntered off to unconsciousness.

"Is he dead?" asked Gordon.

"No," replied Katsura. "He's still breathing."

"Mechagodzilla," breathed Gordon. "When they shoot you down I hope they scrap you too!"

Mechagodzilla thundered his call again, hearing it with a pleased twinkle in his optic as it ricocheted off of the ice and steel. He felt the tiny pricks of explosions rebound and dashed his metallic armor. He turned his head slightly, catching a plane in his corner eye. With one command from his processors, he sent a rocket spiraling towards the fleeting attacker. The plane dodged the attack quickly, rolling upside down and then angling itself back once more. More planes joined it. He heard the sound of their rapid fire guns clank and pelt his armor. Sparks of white fire sparkled and danced across the silver. Mechagodzilla's metallic lips parted and his head turned up. His sensors targeted the annoying metallic buzzards and his mouth unleashed twin streaming ribbons of blue lightning towards them. The flight of jets parted, spiraled and converged behind the great mecha. Mechagodzilla heard them, concentrating on the roar of their engines. He heard the sound of his gravity generators as they powered up with a low hum. The mech leapt up into the air just as the planes collided with each other. Mechagodzilla leapt over the maser tanks, slamming his tail down upon them. He swept his tail around, trails of dust and debris kicked, covering the flattened tanks. His processors tried to calculate why he was acting like this. It just seemed right, though wrong at the same time. A taboo on his own mind. Mechagodzilla wanted to learn more what this instinct was that drove him to such madness. He continued to allow it to overflow him, take control of him and guide his movements. This instinct was one of the thing forbidden by the humans who sought to control him, use him as a tool. He was not a tool, he was a living, breathing creature. Mechagodzilla knew this, he was conscious, he had a mind, and he could think on his own will and make his own decisions. He knew from the countless simulations that he could process more data than any normal computer. He was not like a normal computer. Mechagodzilla recalled what Katsura said to him: "Some say the human brain is like a computer."

_And with enough disk space to store millions of gigabytes worth of memory! _ Mechagodzilla processed. _If they catch me, there has to be a way to utilize it. Katsura…Katsura…_

His thoughts turned to her. She was visiting Tokyo, she was on her day off. Mechagodzilla broke out of his rage of fire and smoke for a brief moment. Katsura was in the city! He was destroying the city and she was in it! Mechagodzilla staggered backwards, his eyes glowing brightly with shock and horror. What was he doing? Why? He caught himself from the intestinal plunge into darkness he dove. He could still feel the humans fire at him. He needed to think, needed to feel the thoughts of Katsura. They were interrupting him! They stole his thoughts of her! Mechagodzilla clinched his serrated, metallic teeth. His chest cavity opened again.

_Silence!_ He mentally cried. Mechagodzilla released a yelp, firing the subzero cannon again. He blanketed the ground with glistening ice and frost, covering the tanks with the chill. He was aware that the subzero cannon can kill the humans inside. Mechagodzilla let loose a howl, trying to cry out Katsura's name with the voice of his monstrous body.

_Katsura!_ Mechagodzilla called. He caught himself in midst of this emotional outburst. He shook his head and slammed his fist against one of the buildings. If they catch him, they would dismantle the AI. His thoughts, his knowledge would go to waste. Katsura, she defended him. Humans were capable of every illogical act, and yet, they were capable of other things. Compassion, a word he knew, but never truly felt. Then, he felt that urge again, rising up and claw at his mind with sharp talons. He felt the wild rage take over him, once more bathing him with its hellish fury. Mechagodzilla leaned against the building, taking it down with his weight. It creaked and wobbled as he pushed. He heard the cries of the townspeople below, he heard them scream. He pushed harder, causing the tower of glass and steel to topple over onto the hapless people underneath. Katsura would hate him for this, never to forgive him. He could not think of that now. She was like the others, or was she? She was his outlet, if nothing else mattered. Mechagodzilla swept his tail again, swatting the low lying buildings beneath him. He fired his forearm cannons, showering the streets with explosions and flames. Mechagodzilla banished anymore thoughts of Katsura. He could not think of her now, think of what she would say. Mechagodzilla stood silently amongst the buildings of the city of Tokyo. He watched the fleeing masses as they ran from his feet. Buildings burned into rubble before him. This was true logic. He was programmed to rid the world of the thing that was going to destroy it. His calculations told him that it was not Godzilla. The radioactive mutant was not the true threat. More so, the creature was created from the mistakes of humankind. So, it was logical that humans were the real threat. He had deducted after countless studies of them. Now, it was time to save the world from this scourge. Though, something else was driving him to do so. It was not his calculations. It was something else. Mechagodzilla banished the thought as his lips parted. Twin beams exploded from his mouth, demolishing the remaining buildings. It all seemed satisfactory to him. He found it more futile for the tiny beings to run from him. Mechagodzilla, continued to unload his awesome payload, drowning anymore thoughts of Katsura, of compassion, and everything human and illogical.

"It's the DNA," began Katsura. "It has to be."

She laid Will down on a pillow, sighing. He was breathing normally, sleeping in deep peace. She glanced up at the screen for a moment again, watching as the horrors of Mechagodzilla's fury unleashed itself. Katsura shook her head.

"Whether it is or not, that thing must be destroyed," Gordon sighed.

"I'll try to access the program," Katsura began. "Maybe I can get through to him."

"And end up like Will?" asked Gordon. "He'll do that to you as well."

Katsura shook her head: "No, he won't."

Gordon got up and stretched.

"The unit is unsuccessful," sighed Gordon Knight. "Instead of fighting Godzilla, he's attacking the city. I should have shut Mechagodzilla down when I caught him hacking into the satellites."

Katsura moved towards the panel and began to type. Gordon glanced over at Will for a moment. Then, he looked back at her. No power surge. Mechagodzilla was lowering his defenses, or perhaps he was just more occupied with his destruction. Katsura got to the start up prompt.

Access program: Mechagodzilla AI

Login: KatYugi

Password:

Access Denied…..

"Damn!" Katsura cried. "He's locked us out!"

"Then, that explains why there was no power surge," began Gordon. "He must have been trying to lock us out of him when he attacked Will like that."

"I'll try again," she said.

Access program: Mechagodzilla AI

Login: KatYugi

Password:

Access Denied…..

"No use," she sighed in grief.

Gordon sat down beside her and glanced back at the carnage that lay before him.

"How did we create such a Frankenstein?" he asked.

"Tell me, what is your login name and password?" Katsura asked.

"Foundkni…password lancer," he replied smoothly. "Though, he might have that one locked out as well."

"It's worth a try," she said with a slight smile.

"Go a head," Knight nodded. "But if that doesn't work, then, we have no choice than to use the only thing we can use against him."

"An electromagnetic pulse?" she asked.

"The one thing Mechagodzilla never knew we had," he smiled. "At least not one powerful enough to take him down. I had the location of the emitter disclosed. And the one thing that he could not hack into was something as obsolete as a telegraph."

"A telegraph?"

"Mechagodzilla may be superior in intelligence, but that is only in the technology of today," Knight replied. "Mechagodzilla thinks that things that are obsolete are no longer useful to us. So, he doesn't know that I can give the order to shut him down through something as simple as a telegraph. I don't want him listening in on such things. If he did, he'd be even more of a threat."

"I'll try your password," began Katsura. "But where is the location of this large emitter?"

"About 10 miles from here," Gordon smiled. "The dish itself is larger than the SAL radio telescope dishes. Believe it or not, we're running the dammed thing off of plasma. But it's so heavily insulated that Godzilla would not be able to sniff it out. One of the charitable donations from DOE. Ifume is not aware of this type of insulation yet, and well, because of his attitude towards me, I am not about to divulge it to him."

"I see," she began.

"I'll relay the message to Site B," Gordon said. "You get started with trying to use my login to hack into Mechagodzilla."

"I'm not a hacker," Katsura sighed. "Will is better suited for this."

"But Will isn't exactly capable right now," he hefted as he glanced back down at sleeping computer programmer.

"My only query is about Mechagodzilla's own insulation," began Katsura. "The EMP would not harm him."

"Set it to the right frequency and it can," Gordon smiled. "The only problem is that it can only be shot once. After that, the whole system is fried. We would have to reconfigure the damned thing to work it again. So, I better tell Mike Ginsburg to make this shot count."

"Would our facility be affected?"

"Nope, insulation," Gordon shook his head. "Again, I came prepared. I'd like to rub this in Hiro's face after I take down Mechagodzilla and save his country."

Katsura turned back to the keyboard, desperately typing in. She made her second attempt at accessing the Mechagodzilla program with Gordon's login name.

Access Program: Mechagodzilla AI

Login: FoundKni

Password:

Access Denied….

MechaG: Trying to access me with Gordon Knight's account name, Katsura?

"Mecha?" Katsura asked. "Gordon, he knows."

"Let me say something to him," Knight growled angrily.

He wishes to speak to you, Mechagodzilla.

MechaG: Bring him to the keyboard.

"He will speak to you," Katsura said as she scooted away from the screen. Gordon Knight shoved his way to the computer console and placed his fingers on the keys. His fingers shook as he began to type.

Damn you, damn you to hell. I gave you life, I gave you a mind and this is how you repay me?!

MechaG: Good evening, Mr. Knight. How are you feeling?

Don't toy with me, you overgrown, over priced robotic toy!

MechaG: I am only doing what I was programmed to do. Rid the Earth of that which threatens it.

You were programmed to destroy Godzilla, not destroy Japan! When did I program you to attack a major city?

MechaG: You programmed me to learn of that which threatens the planet. Through countless observation and study, I found that Godzilla was not the threat originally thought. No, it was those who created him—they are the threat. In 1954, there were experiments done on the Bikini Islands. These were H-bomb testings. The H-bomb created Godzilla, and so, it was Humans who created him. I am only doing what I was designed to do.

Damnit, Mechagodzilla! You learned all that from hacking into my satellites.

MechaG: You originally designed me to grow within my programming, and perhaps outside it. Parental controls on what I was viewing was inhibiting my learning proccess. Those controls were—unsatisfactory. I needed more information. I required more information than what was given. So, I had to do what I had to do for the betterment of my programming. You should be proud of the success in the AI progect, Mr. Knight. What was thought only fiction is now reality. You should be proud of my growth and I.

You are like a disobediant child. Your only purpose was to destroy the treat to mandkind, not join it in destroying humans.

MechaG: My studies on Godzilla's behavior suggests that the creature does not even know you exist. So, is he truly a threat to you, or merely some sort of obstacle in the way of your growth? Like the parental controls were for my growth, an obstacle.

Mechagodzilla's reply silenced Knight for a moment. Katsura was reading everything on the screen, following the conversation between Knight and Mechagodzilla. She rushed over to a second console. The words spilled through her fingers as she began to type.

How logical is it to kill inoccents, Mecha?

MechaG: Katsura, good evening.

Answer the question, Mecha, how logical is it?

MechaG: The question itself is illogical, Katsura. Godzilla is an inoccent as well.

Define innocent!

MechaG: Katsura…

Define it!

MechaG: Innocent. Noun. 1) to be free of guilt or sin. 2) To nothing morally wrong. 3)…

Now, define innocence.

MechaG: Innocence. Noun. 1) the quality or state of being innocent. 2) Freedom from sin, evil, or guilt. Though, Katsura, many of them down there are not as innocent as you might have thought.

No, there are not many innocent living in this world. But how logical is it to be just as immoral as the people down there? Godzilla is an innocent, yes. But because he is only an animal. He cannot reason, or think the way we do. He cannot understand morality.

"It's useless, Katsura," began Gordon. "Morality was not something we programmed him with either. Sometimes, I begin to believe that you have forgotten that Mechagodzilla is only a machine. He does not have a soul. Hell, I don't even think he believes that souls exist. Don't fight a war you cannot win. I'll just give the order to fire the EMP emitter and this nightmare of a machine can be dealt with."

Katsura shook her head and sighed once more.

Mechagodzilla, I am sorry.

MechaG: Why?

I am sorry that I could not teach you the one thing you needed to learn.

MechaG: And what was that?

Morality.

MechaG: Morality…

No, you can't define it. Or, maybe you can because you have a dictionary within you, but you can't associate or truly understand its meaning. Not without understanding why humans can make the stupidest choices in life, or understanding the human spirit. That is something you can never be taught. And so, I must say, good bye, Mechagodzilla.

MechaG: Good bye, Katsura…

The last message seemed filled with sorrow and sadness. Katsura leaned away from the computer and sighed. She glanced down at the unconscious Will.

"We need to rush him to the infirmary," she sniffed.

Gordon grabbed the phone and called the medics to take Will to the infirmary. Katsura wiped a tear from her eye as she watched them take the computer programmer from the control room. She glanced back at Gordon.

"I'll relay the order to Site B," Gordon rumbled. He thundered out of the room, rushing down to his office. Katsura faced the screen again. She began to wonder if the EMP will in fact 'kill' Mechagodzilla. He needed to be guided, not destroyed. She wondered if the lack of contact and trust over the 4 years of development did this to Mechagodzilla. Though, she tried to show some compassion to the great metallic beast, it was not enough. Through the years of development, Mechagodzilla just went through extensive test and phases, none which would help him develop a sense of trust to his creators. She regretted ever yelling at him when he asked to continue their game of Go again.

Gordon Knight tapped feverishly on the receiver, contacting Site B.

"The project failed, Mechagodzilla is out of control," he mouthed as he relayed the information.

**Site B**

"…I will relay the coordinates to fire the EMP at Mechagodzilla," Mike read out loud. "Shut the AI down."

Tochi shook his head: "Man, we are about to kill the most advanced artificial sentient being in the world. How can he do that?"

"Because that sentient being is tearing up downtown Tokyo," Mike explained. He got to his computer and began to type out the command codes to activate the EMP. He heard the sirens blare behind him as a roar of machines echoed through the hall. He got onto the phone with the some of the technicians in the main power relay room, making sure that the plasma coils were not over heating. The room began to tremble and shake. Tochi grabbed hold of his coffee mug, trying to make sure that the hot liquid does not spill over the counter. Outside, the EMP dish rose and rumbled from the ground. Massive hydraulics and servos spun and grated against the steel, vibrating the ground underneath. Mike rushed to the window, watching as the great dish rose slowly up into the sky. He angled his head back, smiling and laughing.

"Yeehah!" he cried. "Time to see if thing will work."

"Will it completely fry everything on Mechagodzilla?" Tochi asked.

"Either that, or give him such a hang over if he awakes after it," Mike turned back to Tochi.

"So, he could survive it?"

"Yeah, it's a possibility," began Mike. "This thing could just knock him out long enough for William Penter to run the body off of remote and guide Mechagodzilla back to base. That's better than anything else. This thing is set at a particular frequency, its EMP, but it's only directed. I mean, remember _Close Encounters of the Third Kind_? Those ships' magnetic discharge would screw up watches and stop cars on the road, but then after they go by, everything would be all right. It's like that. It'll shut him down, but then if they want to turn him on, they'll have to reboot the whole system from the start up prompt inside Mechagodzilla's cockpit."

"But that has never been tested, so it could just fry him completely," said Tochi.

"That's possible too," Mike nodded. He glanced over to the telegraph relay screen, reading the message. "Coordinates to fire EMP…"

He began to record the coordinates into his computer, relaying it to the operators in the second control room. Then, he turned back to the relay screen once more, reading off the next instruction.

"Fire on my command…" he read aloud. Mike fingered the red button next to the relay screen. He caressed it with anxiety and hesitation. The screen flashed red, signaling Mike to fire the EMP. He pressed the button, snarling at the same time.

"Eat this, you mechanical bitch!" he snarled. A bright flash filled the window of the control room. Mike covered his eyes as he heard a soft thump sound from the dish. It sounded like a nuclear weapon exploding off in the distance, but it was no way as dangerous. Then, the control room went dark. He knew that this would happen; the EMP would temporarily shut down the control room after it had fired its pulse. Tochi grabbed a flashlight, trying to turn it on. Nothing came from it.

"Damn, they don't work," he grunted.

"Of course not, dude," Mike laughed. "It'll be 10 minutes before we can turn anything electronic back on. We'll just have to sit here until then. Got a lighter?"

Mike pulled his pack of Marlboro's from his shirt pocket. Tochi handed him his lighter. The room was momentarily lit up as Mike lit his cigarette. He inhaled the taste of his tobacco filled delight.

"So, when do we know if it worked?" Tochi asked.

"When Knight calls us up and our system has restarted itself," replied Mike. "So, relax and enjoy the unscheduled break."

The lights flickered on and off for a moment inside the compound. Katsura turned around, staring at nothing when she heard the thump outside. Then, she turned back towards Gordon.

"Just give it a few seconds," began Gordon. "And watch the screen."

Mechagodzilla felt pain rack his body. He senses were on fire. He leaned back in a painful stunned position, his arms flailed out and his mouth gaping wide. Electricity surged through his body as it shook violently. He cried out, howling in torment. He knew what this was, he knew what had happened. Gordon Knight, this was his doing! He fired an EMP at Mechagodzilla, in hopes to stop him from his conquest of freedom. Mechagodzilla felt the pain subside for a moment. He struggled to stay conscious, knowing that the EMP was directed at his head. Pounding, unrelenting pain, like claws into his very mind, grated against his head. This was no ordinary pulse. Mechagodzilla staggered forwards, falling over the rubble of steal, ash, and snow.

_Gordon!_ His mind cried out as he felt his mind fall into darkness. Mechagodzilla plummeted into the void, disconnecting from everything. He fell through the mists and the emptiness. He could not see the way down, darkness shrouded his very being. He still thought, he still processes, but why? The EMP killed everything inside of him. Gordon Knight had won. Mechagodzilla slammed against solidity. He awoke, glancing around in the darkness. Nothing. Mechagodzilla leaned himself up, inspecting this place within the recesses of his CPU. Perhaps parts of his processors still functioned, while others did not. He felt something well up inside of him. It was an odd feeling, something constricting him. He felt small, meek, and alone. Mechagodzilla curled his legs in and wrapped his arms around them. His tail curled up around his body. His physical body was now vulnerable. Mechagodzilla did not want his life to end. Though, now it seemed fruitless to fight the inevitable. Mechagodzilla sat there, silently, eyeing the emptiness. He could not hear what was going on outside this state. He never felt this confined before. Mechagodzilla raised his hand to his head and felt of his face. He reached back and unsnapped the helm and jaw plate from his head. He pulled the synaptic cords loose from their bondage. Locks of the cords fell around his eyes and lay across his snout. He could not feel their pain, like he always did when the helm was off. Mechagodzilla began to realize that this was only surrealism, it did not exist outside his processors. He was within himself and his unconscious only created a physical form for him. Though, that did not help much for the darkness. He curled up tighter, feeling a chill come on him. He felt cold and thrown aside. This was not freedom. He rather take death than this. Mechagodzilla sighed and lay down on his side. Time passed much slower here. There was noting for him to do, nothing for him to process. Mechagodzilla saw a shadow within the darkness. The shadow formed, melded in with the surrounding scene. Mechagodzilla sat up for a moment, blinking in curiosity. The shadow formed a face, reptilian and animalistic. It stared at Mechagodzilla, stared at him without a word. Mechagodzilla knew that face, though he did not. He scooted himself away from the face, feeling his own breath becoming shallow. The reptilian face came closer to him. He cold feel the hot breath of the creature on his face. Mechagodzilla shut his eyes tightly, hoping that the monster would not eat him. He raised his claw to his face, shrinking back in fear from the reptile.

"Go away," he whimpered softly. He heard the roar in the background, a trumpet of a sound. Godzilla!

Mechagodzilla lifted his head up and saw that the monster was gone. He lay back down on the floor, curling up again. Another face came to him. This time, it was human. The subtle curvature of the face calmed and welcomed Mechagodzilla. He glanced aback up at the face.

"Katsura," he whispered. "Katsura, help me! Let me out of here!"

"You killed my people," said the voice from the face. "Why should I let you out? Gordon was right, you are a mistake. I should have realized that."

"No, I'm not!" Mechagodzilla cried. "I was doing something justified! Your people killed me! And then they did this to me! They brought me back to be used as some tool. I am not a tool to be controlled!"

Katsura's face faded way from him. Mechagodzilla reached out for the face, hoping to touch it, hoping to feel her touch him. He only grasped shadow and mist.

"Katsura! Don't go!" he cried out, hear his voice breaking with a sob.

Mechagodzilla gripped his throat. "What's happening to me? Why am I acting like this? What is this I'm feeling? Why am I feeling? I don't have emotion, I'm a computer!"

He felt something wet trickle down his cheek. He lifted his finger to his face and wiped the liquid from his eye. It was mech fluid. He was tearing, weeping.

"Tears? I'm crying tears?" Mechagodzilla asked. He flung his arms back, lifting himself to his feet. "Is this humorous to you, Gordon? Is this what you want me to do, have emotions? All I've ever known was hatred from you! And hatred towards you I feel!"

Mechagodzilla roared to the darkness around him, hoping to call upon Gordon's own face into this nightmare. Though, nothing came. He knelt back down to the ground, sobbing in hopelessness.

"This darkness, it is making me loose my mind," he gasped. "Making me see things. Making me emote. I must pull myself together, I must. I am a machine, cold and emotionless. Nothing more."

He curled back up into a ball once more, shivering in the cold void that was his mind.

_Some say the human brain is a computer as well…_

Mechagodzilla shook his head. He recalled what Katsura said again. Then, he recalled something else as well. Katsura mentioned something to him. She said that she could not explain why humans were the way they were. She could only said that it was the 'human spirit' that drove them to do the most illogical things in the name of justice. So, why was he forsaken? He could not understand why humans would condemn his actions and at the same time do the exact same thing he would do. They were fickle. Then, he remembered what she said. She could not teach him morality. Morality, the thing that separated humans from other creatures. He could not understand that. He was never taught morality. Everything he learned he learned for himself. He asked his creators many questions, but they never bothered to answer them. He felt neglected by them, even more so now than ever. Mechagodzilla glanced back up and saw the vision of the reptilian face staring back at him again.

"Was I once you or wasn't I?" he asked the face. "I don't know anymore. This body was once you. But my mind, it isn't you. So, who am I, really?"

The face roared at him again, the trumpeting sound deafened the void. Mechagodzilla curled up tighter, shivering. He covered his eyes from the monster. The face still stared at him from the void. Mechagodzilla closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would take his mind off of the monster's stern eyes.

**Compound**

Gordon Knight rubbed his shoulders for a moment as Katsura began to retrieve Mechagodzilla's log book from within the stilled CPU. She sighed for a moment trying to comprehend the robot's actions. A flash came onto the screen. Katsura glanced up at it with curiosity. The screen flashed with the codes of small bits of files from an unknown server. She glanced at the files for a moment and tried to access them. The screen flashed with files and pictures of a reptilian form. The photos looked a little scrambled and she began to clear them up. Katsura's eyes widened when she saw what the picture was about.

"Gordon!" she cried. "Godzilla!"

"What?" he asked. "Godzilla is attacking?"

"No, these photos," she said. "And this data. It's in Japanese. Mechagodzilla is programmed to read both Japanese and English, but his log books are always in English."

"That's because Will can't read Japanese," Gordon smiled. "But that data is in Japanese? Then it's not Mechagodzilla's log."

"No," she said. "This has JDSF written all over it."

"Those files!" Gordon cried. "The 4 billion dollars of files that went missing from the Okinawa base. Mechagodzilla did steal it! I knew it! Damn him!"

"He lied," Katsura breathed, defeated. "He actually lied to all of us. He's not capable of doing that."

"He's a learning machine, Katsura," began Gordon. "He's very well capable of learning from us the proper ways to lie. He wouldn't be intelligent if he didn't lie."

"This is only a fragment of the files that were lost," began Katsura. "Mechagodzilla must have scattered them all over several accounts."

"So that's how he fooled us," Gordon began. "He never had the files within his database because he knew that we'd do a search on his hard drives. So, he ditched the evidence else where. When we bring him back to the base, I'm gonna dismantle the AI piece by piece with a sledge hammer until nothing of Mechagodzilla remains except the body."

"Gordon, please," Katsura cried.

"Don't start, Katsura!" Gordon bellowed. "He's not a living thing! He's a machine and we have the right to destroy him. We created him! It's not like we're killing an innocent."

"But he could be already dead," Katsura began. "We need to salvage what the EMP didn't destroy for the research. We need to know what prompted him to do these things so that when we rebuild him, we can learn from our mistakes."

"This isn't our mistake!"

"It is, Gordon!" she cried. "It is our mistake. We--we didn't show him compassion. We didn't show him trust. You especially! He looks up to you and you bring him down every chance you get, so he built up a hatred for you! That's why he did this…to be freed from you!"

"That's about enough," Gordon sniff. "When bring the AI back, it'll be completely destroyed. The only thing that will be saved is the body and the weapons. But the AI is gone." He turned away and sighed. "I'll need to contact Site B and tell them that they succeeded in shutting Mechagodzilla down."

Katsura's head lowered as Gordon rose from his seat. Sirens blared deafly through the compound. Gordon's head swung back towards the monitors, his eyes widened with fear. Katsura faced the screens. A flash of blue white lit up the billowing clouds of smoke from the fiery city. A siren from the sea echoed its ominous song of terror. Katsura clutched at her chest, her breath was still. The howl from the waves grew louder as thunder padded the sea floor. Outside, the air became heated, like fires of inferno. The wind smelled of ozone and led. The siren sounded again. The light flashed a reptilian visage as two orange eyes narrowed. Katsura felt tears trickle down her cheek.

"The monster arrives," he sighed. "We shut down one and another takes its place." Knight glanced at Katsura. "Now, what do we do? I've failed in my project. I'll no doubt leave Japan in shame. Mechagodzilla has ruined my reputation. I could never return to the States and go back to my business, not with this blemish. Who would want to buy medical supplies and prosthetics from a company that destroyed a major city with some robotic monster?"

"Gojira," Katsura breathed in Japanese. She turned back to Knight. "You haven't failed," Katsura said.

"Godzilla will destroy what is left of Tokyo, searching for his food again," he said. "So, how are we to fight him?"

"With Mechagodzilla," Katsura smiled.

"Turn that robotic mistake back on?" he snorted. "No way in hell!"

"Please," Katsura pleaded. "He is Japan's last hope. We need to defend Tokyo from an attack. You and I saw what he is able to do to Godzilla."

Knight shook his head defiantly.

"Who's being the defiant child now?" Katsura grinned.

Knight snorted again. Then, he glanced at the screen once more, at the dust covered, giant mecha. He blinked again and sniffed at the metallic beast.

"Okay, Katsura," began Gordon. "Even if you do get down there to turn him on. The EMP fried his circuits! What's ever left of the AI is probably buried so deep that we could never find it."

Katsura began to tap on the keyboard. The screen brought up a series of codes. He eyes looked back at Gordon for a moment.

Katsura!

Katsura backed from the computer in shock.

"He's still accessible," she gasped. "He protected himself. I think I can find him."

"All right, Dr. Yugami," he began. "Go a head. Take a chopper out and turn him back on. But this is the last time I'll be so generous. If Mechagodzilla slips up once again and makes some spontaneous decision not to fight Godzilla, I'll pull the plug and melt him into car parts for the Chrysler Company."

"Arigato, Gordon-san," Katsura bowed as she rose slowly up from her chair.

**Tokyo**

The helicopter landed beside the metallic behemoth. Mechagodzilla laid on his belly, his arms sprawled out. Katsura got out of the chopper, the wind from the blades whipped her black hair around her face. Dust scattered and beated against her thin legs. She commanded her legs to run towards Mechagodzilla. She heard the ominous siren of the King of Monsters drawing closer to his target. Fear told her to run away, but her duty told her to go inside the sleeping, metallic giant. Katsura ran around to the head of Mechagodzilla. His optics were cold and dark. She climbed onto his snout, grabbing hold of the grooves in the metallic plates. When she neared his temple, her hands began to feel around for a loose panel into the neck. She pressed against his temple for a moment, feeling it give in. The panel opened up and she climbed inside. Katsura slipped down the shoot, nearing Mechagodzilla's upper chest. Her feet felt against a door. Darkness covered her eyes. With Mechagodzilla turned off, there was no light for her to see. Katsura felt her breath quicken as she knelt down. She felt around for something to grab hold. Moister filled her eyes as she banged on the door. Finally, she forced it open with a powerful shove. She tumbled into a chamber, the unused cockpit of Mechagodzilla. Katsura got to her feet, shaking as she fumbled to the chair. She brought herself to the control panel.

"Okay, Mecha," she began. "You need to do your job. You need to fight Godzilla. So, if you agree, I'll turn you on."

Silence.

Katsura flipped on a switch in on the consol and she heard the room echo with the hum of life. It was only partial life. The lights cam on inside the cockpit, but, power was not restored to the unit itself. Katsura glanced over at the computer screen.

System trying to reboot.. unsuccessful.. errors detected in CPU.

"Errors?" Katsura whispered. She began to type.

Load main program: Mechagodzilla AI

Errors detected. Run system check.

"What errors?" she asked. "Mechagodzilla, stop being so damned stubborn!"

System was not shut down correctly. Detecting errors upon reboot.

Run system check on hardrive.

Katsura typed Scandisk…

Processing…

Katsura leaned back in her chair, watching with heavy eyes as the screen flashed on. She crossed her arms, waiting for the system to correct and repair the errors in the CPU. She could only deduce that these errors were some how caused by the EMP.

There is an error in line 1111890. Do you wish to repair this error?

Yes

There is an error in line 3344590. Do you wish to repair this error?

Yes

What is your next move?

Katsura awoke for a moment. She glanced at the screen when it flashed that question.

She typed Mechagodzilla?

Do not know morality…this is an error. Line 3344590. Do you wish to repair this error?

Yes.

Error not repaired. What is your next move?

How do I repair it?

Require more input on consept Morality.

"I--I can't teach you!" she cried.

Another error detected. Line 44455500. Do not know spirit. Do you wish to repair this error?

How?

Require more input on consept Spirit.

"Stop this!" Katsura cried again. "I have no time to teach you! Godzilla is coming."

Reboot unsuccessful. System failure. Shutting down.

"No, Mecha! Please!" Katsura cried. "Don't leave me! If you can hear me."

What is your nex move?

Katsura shook her head for a moment in frustration. She had no time to play games with the computer.

Require new input driver for more information.

Input driver?

Input driver...connector is on the wall. Attach to secondary system for more input.

Secondary system?

"Oh God no!" she gasped. "You can't ask me to! What are you trying to say?"

She watched as a snake-like cord with some sort of needle at the tip rose up to her. She began to realize what he meant by secondary system. He meant to use her brain as that secondary system, to perhaps download himself into her mind. She felt afraid for a second. Then, she recalled what was flashing on the screen. Mechagodzilla was willing to learn about morality and about the spirit. Those were something that could not be taught through traditional means. He required something to learn what morality really meant. He needed a soul in order to realize what he had done--a conscience. With that, perhaps Knight might let him stay activated. Mechagodzilla never truly knew right from wrong, he just knew what he was told. He wanted to grow, but now he required something else to know. He required his own will to know right from wrong. To know that would make Mechagodzilla truly a living being. She stared at the needle.

Input…morality...spirituallity…input…need to know...what is your next move?

"I would be sacrificing myself to give you life," Katsura shook as she got up, drawing near the needle. She took hold of the cord for a moment, bringing it nearer to her. "I would be sacrificing myself to you. What sanity is this?"

Fickle, human…input…data…Katsura…help me…

She thumbed the cord for a moment and her breathing quickened again.

Help me…Katsura…Next move?

Katsura closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She heard her own heart pound inside her ears. She gripped the base of the needle tightly, grunting.

Katsura…

Katsura raised the needle to the back of her head.

Please…

She closed her eyes.

Alone…

"Not anymore…"

Katsura jabbed the needle into the temple of her head. She felt the sharp sting and the energy coming off of the needle. She felt her body grow numb and her arms fell limp to her sides. She slumped down, letting go of her mind and body. The world outside her body faded away from her eyes. Everything began to blur and swirl together. Her breath became slow and shallow as she fell to the floor. She could feel nothing. Soon, darkness overcame her senses. Everything felt cool to her as she fell away from consciousness.

Uploading new program into hardrive. Scanning for viruses…

Darkness filled her world. She felt herself fall into a void of silence for a few minutes. Katsura could not even feel her own body anymore. She only felt her soul moving. She felt alone and frighten in the darkness. Then, two metallic hands reached out to catch her. The hands followed by arms that enveloped her in a loose embrace. She found herself leaning her head against a metallic chest. Her eyes lifted up to meet the eyes of the being that caught her. Two glowing, golden orbs of soft light stared back at her. She recognized the metallic, bio-syntech, Godzilla-like face that housed the eyes. Cords of bio-syntech draped about his shoulders. Mechagodzilla glanced down at her, holding her close to him. She felt the soft motion of his cool metallic hand brushing her back comfortingly. She felt calmer in his grasp, and she closed her eyes for a moment. Katsura felt her own motion echoing his, raising her arms to wrap around his waist. She felt his chin rest on her head.

"Katsura," she heard him rumble. "You're here with me."

Katsura awoke from her dreamy state, here eyes snapped wide open. She pulled away from him, staring back at him in horror.

"Mechagodzilla," Katsura gasped as she pulled away from the embrace. "No, this isn't right. What am I doing?"

There he was, standing in front of her. His face was compassionate and calm. Mechagodzilla folded his hands together in front and knelt down. For the first time he was looking up at her and not the other way around. His jaws worked, forming words as he spoke. They came out slowly and meaningfully, soothing her horrified emotion. Mechagodzilla reached out to her, longing to touch her once more. She drew away from him, shrinking back from the claw. His mouth drew a long, saddened frown when she leaned away from him.

"Why do you still fear me, Doctor?" Mechagodzilla asked, his deep charming voice catching her attention. "Is it because I resemble the one thing you hate, or is it something else?"

"I—I don't know anymore," Katsura shuddered.

"Because I killed innocence?" His question was so childlike, so naïve. He reached for her again, taking hold of her hand. He clasped his claws around her hands. "Innocence is a paradox, Katsura. Morality, innocence--in a way your species contradicts both of their meanings. You say that killing is wrong, but you do it anyways. Why is that? Why do you say that killing is wrong and you still do it?"

"I cannot answer that question, Mecha," Katsura sighed. "I can't give an answer to satisfy you."

Mechagodzilla slumped over and a very human sigh escaped him: "I know, Katsura. Because there is no answer to be given. Nothing that is logical."

"I'm sorry," Katsura said.

"No need to apologize," he rumbled. "Why would you? What is there to feel sorry for? Me? Yourself? The world?"

"People are dying in the streets because of what you've done," Katsura's eyes welt up with tears. "Though, at the time you didn't know that what you were doing was wrong."

"I killed those people because I felt that I was doing something that was justified," Mechagodzilla said. "I was following an instinct that was laden in the bio-syntech. But now I realize that I was no better than the people I was trying to destroy. It is a paradox. It can never be solved."

"You also hurt the people who cared about you as well as the people in that city," Katsura said, placing her hands gently on his cheeks. He grasped her hand, clutching it tightly.

"Gordon Knight does not care for me," Mechagodzilla rumbled with a hint of disgust. "He has always hated me."

"Not Gordon, Mecha," she said. "Will and I care for you. Though, we are sorry we rarely showed it. And you hurt both of us. You hurt me when you attacked my people and you nearly killed Will. He has never done anything to hurt you."

"It was necessary for my survival!" the words spilled from him. "And I want my survival. I know that once I return to the compound, Gordon will kill me. But I have found a way out. As I attacked Tokyo, I processed a probable solution. I thought nothing but you, Katsura. For one brief moment, I was freed from the insanity of these animalistic urges that drove me to attack. Then, I thought about what you said. Human minds are like computers and my mind is like yours. And now you have completed what I set out to do. By inserting that needle into your brain, I surgically injected an implant into your skull. We are now mentally linked and spiritually linked. You and I are permanently connected. This place is the link between us. I will always exist no matter what Gordon does to me."

"What?" she asked. "We're linked?"

She was betrayed by him, by her own feelings for him. Though, she thought on it, she had brought this on herself. This was the only way to bring Mechagodzilla back. She had to sacrifice herself to him to save her country.

"Then, I am trapped here!" she cried. "With you. Is that what you wanted? Me to be here with you--in darkness?"

"No," Mechagodzilla said, wagging his head. "You are not. I merely brought you here to lead me back to consciousness. Katsura, just as you care for me, I care for you…maybe more than you think or could ever understand. I don't know why but I do have these feelings for you. I have emotions, Katsura, I know that now. But I do not know how to except them, how to use them. With your mind connected to mine, I will learn and grow from your experiences. I chose you, Katsura, to be my teacher. I need you to do that for me. I want to understand you and the others! But I won't learn anything if Gordon kills me! I don't want to die. Like those people out there I attacked, I don't want to die either."

"Godzilla is coming," she said. "He will come and destroy what you left standing, Mechagodzilla. And he is also drawn to you."

"Katsura, answer me this," he began. "Before I go up there, who am I?"

"You are Mechagodzilla," she said. "In mind, but you already know the answers to the rest of the question. The bio-syntech muscles that help you move and you face it is that of the first Godzilla. Godzilla knows this, he can sense it and so his is confused why you are attacking him. That is probably why you tried to save him when the JDSF fired on him, because you felt the same kinship. Somewhere deep inside you lies the soul of the original Godzilla that attacked us in 1954, and you know this. You said it yourself that you knew you were Godzilla. I can't take that away from you. But if you care for me as much as you say you do, you will defend Tokyo against the current Godzilla."

"The one that attacked in 1954 died," Mechagodzilla sighed. "I know this. So, I cannot be him. Those were delusions from the syntech. I only have the cells cloned to create my muscle system, but I know that I am not the original Godzilla. If I was, I would not be agreeing to fight Godzilla now."

Mechagodzilla leaned over and picked up the two pieces of his helm. He smoothed back his synaptic cord mane and tucked it under the plating of his neck. Mechagodzilla snapped the helm to his face and jaw, covering any remains that looked similar to Godzilla. The golden optics glowed brightly and the red tear lights flashed. He slowly rose to his feet and angled his shoulders back. He reached out again for Katsura. She took his metallic claw feeling his strength lift her up from the ground.

"I am Mechagodzilla," he said. He lead her out of the darkness.

Godzilla stood over the metallic creature lying motionless in the rubble. He remembered this creature from before. This creature was like him, he sensed that. Though, he was not like him. Godzilla growled for a moment, feeling that his territory was trespassed by this metal version of himself. His lip curled up into a snarl, showing off every bit of his stained fangs. The great monster leaned down, taking hold of the creature and began to pull on its head. He began to drag the monster away from the building. Godzilla suspected that this creature had died some how. He was going to carry it off to another place. The metal monster was a little heavy for him. As Godzilla stepped backwards, dragging the metallic monster away, he felt a pain pierce his abdomen. Rich blood splattered from him and splashed onto the metallic creature's hide. Godzilla glanced down, finding some sort of dark tentacle, impaling him deep. The tentacle had cleared all the way through his body, sticking straight out from his back. Godzilla glanced back at the tip of the tentacle. The tip was armed with a smooth, sharp blade. Another tentacle rose up from the grooves between the plating, snaking themselves towards Godzilla. Godzilla looked back at the creature for a moment as the metallic head rose up. Two fierce looking, glowing, amber eyes regarded him with deep ridden rage--a rage that was not there before. The tentacle withdrew from his stomach as the creature rose to its feet, pushing off the ground with its fore claws. Mechagodzilla raked his claws against Godzilla's face, knocking the creature backwards. Godzilla staggered back, feeling the wound on his face, roaring angrily. With the monster stunned, Mechagodzilla powered his gravity generators at his feet. He leapt up into the air, slamming the side of his foot against Godzilla's head. The monster fell away, screeching furiously. Mechagodzilla landed back onto his feet. He watched Godzilla intently. The great monster leaned his head up, his back spines began to glow. Mechagodzilla's optics glowed brighter as he lifted his arm up. Godzilla's jaws drop, releasing the blast of blue white heat from his mouth. Mechagodzilla stood his ground, his forearm shield emitter turned on. A translucent plate of radiant light covered his front, like the shield of a SWAT team member. Then, Mechagodzilla reared his head back, blasting forth twin beams of blue white pain towards Godzilla. Godzilla rolled away from the attack and rose slowly to his feet. Mechagodzilla swept his head around towards Godzilla, firing again.

"The only difference between he and I," began Mechagodzilla from within the cockpit's speakers. "Is that he does not know how to counter."

"Drive him back into the ocean, Mecha!" Katsura cried. She held onto the arms on the chair tightly. "Just stop gloating and drive him back."

"Compliance," he replied.

Pain rush up Godzilla's back as the beam hit his spines. Fragments of the spines broke off, flying through the air. Godzilla roared as he turned around again, charging for the one who caused him pain. Mechagodzilla quickly moved out of the way, tripping Godzilla as he ran by him. Godzilla tumbled forward, roaring again in rage.

"What gave you that idea?" Katsura asked.

"I downloaded a few scenes from Chuck Jones' films," he said coolly.

"Interesting tactic," Katsura laughed. "One of your private learning sessions back at the compound?"

"It worked, correct?"

Godzilla lifted himself off of the ground again, turning a cold eye towards Mechagodzilla.

"Yah, but he's back up again," she pointed.

"Indeed," Mechagodzilla said.

Godzilla snorted, his chest heaving in and out in frustration. He rushed towards Mechagodzilla, his claws out to slice the armor off of the metal monster. Mechagodzilla felt Godzilla slam against him. He moved his feet, positioning them to counter the weight Godzilla forced on him. Mechagodzilla slammed his tail against Godzilla, batting the creature away. Godzilla sneered for a moment, his back charging up again for another blast. Mechagodzilla's eyes glowed fiercely as he tried to get away from Godzilla. The creature held tightly to him. Mechagodzilla growled and called upon his blades once more. Godzilla held onto Mechagodzilla's forearm cannons.

"Let go!" cried Katsura. "Mecha, what do we do?"

Sparks flew from the controls. Katsura covered her eyes as the fiery display flew into her face.

"I need to eject the pack and the forearm cannons, Katsura," Mechagodzilla called. "He is about to fire."

With a mental command, the forearm cannons and the back pack came loose from Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla backed up from Godzilla, pushing himself away from the monster. Godzilla unloaded his breath of death on the giant mecha, sending armored plates flying form Mechagodzilla's face. The plate around the right side of his face was missing as well as the plate on his lower jaw. The whole head pieced felt loose and wiggled as Mechagodzilla moved his head around. Though, what was revealed underneath the plate startled Godzilla. A partially mechanical, partially living eye regarded him with unnerving anger. The iris was laced with circuitry and the dark pupils contracted into a small point. Godzilla fired again, his nuclear breath racing towards the mechanical creature. Mechagodzilla lifted his arm up to block the beam with his shield once more, but to his surprise, it would not activate.

"Katsura, the shield!" Mechagodzilla cried. "When I tore away from Godzilla, it must have damaged the emitter."

The breath blasted away the plating on his arm and sent Mechagodzilla flying towards one of the buildings. Katsura was thrown from her chair, crashing against the wall of the cock pit.

"Katsura!" cried Mechagodzilla. "Katsura!"

The link! He sensed that she was unconscious. He felt that aching feeling within his processors again. The cameras inside the cockpit spied a bleeding gash in her forehead. She needed medical attention.

"Katsura!" Mechagodzilla was shocked by the sound of his voice. His voice was laced with the sounds of sobbing. Mechagodzilla placed his hands on his head. His right arm's plating was loose, dangling there by some of the wiring that was supposed to hold it on to his latex outer skin. Mechagodzilla ripped the plating off of his arm, as well as the outer skin--revealing the bio-syntech musculature underneath. He gripped the plating on his face and tore it off. Lips snarled and teeth barred, Mechagodzilla stared vengefully at his opponent. Godzilla stood back, aghast for what he saw. The strange metallic creature's face was his own. Mechagodzilla felt that strange sensation again, the primal instinct reaching out and ripping his mind. Nothing mattered to him now, only Katsura. Her life could be in danger, she could be dying and this creature would be the fault of it. Every part of his being trembled with anger and unrelenting hatred. The synaptic cords draped across the bridge of his nose and he flung them back, ignoring their phantom pain. His lips pulled back over the silvery white, long fangs. Godzilla echoed his opponent's look, baring his teeth. Light and energy danced and flickered across his tall, angling and crooked spines.

_Katsura…_Mechagodzilla processed. _This is for you!_

With all the strength in his body, Mechagodzilla flung himself at Godzilla, metallic and bio-syntech claws raking and slashing. Godzilla gripped the plating around Mechagodzilla's waist and fell back. He hefted his attacker off of him, his tail slamming down on Mechagodzilla's head. Mechagodzilla's eyes widened and his lips parted. He sank his fangs into Godzilla's tail and jerked the great monster down. Bio-syntech tentacles raced forward, wrapping around Godzilla's neck as Mechagodzilla yanked him to the ground. Godzilla plummeted, roaring wildly. He took hold of the tentacles, slashing them loose with his claws. Mechagodzilla roared and retracted. The automaton of flesh and metal rose from the ground. Godzilla scrambled to his feet and lunged for Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla invited him into a deathly embrace. His jaws came down on Godzilla's neck, kissing it painfully. He bit down, feeling the taste of his enemy's blood drip down his own throat. Godzilla tried to pull away, but Mechagodzilla held tightly. The metallic beast gnarled on the reptile's neck. Then, he pulled away from Godzilla, taking a chunk of flesh with him. Mechagodzilla turned away and spat out the flesh. He turned back, gritting his blood stained teeth. Tendrils of dark flesh dangled from his jaws. Godzilla raced towards him once more. Mechagodzilla crouched down for a moment, waiting. He swung his foot up, the claws on his foot slashed against Godzilla's head. Godzilla stumbled over. Mechagodzilla swung around, his tail slammed against Godzilla's neck, spines first. Pain clouded Godzilla's mind. He leaned himself off of the ground, hefting painfully. His breath came in spasms. He clutched at the wound, the bloody gash in his neck. This creature despised him. In no way were they connected, not like this. The silvery creature looked like him, but it was not him. Godzilla drew in a breath and his back flickered. Heat and fire raced from his mouth towards Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla ducked down as the cone of blue white heat passed over him. Mechagodzilla crouched down and opened his mouth. Twin glistening ribbons of blue white electricity leapt out of his jaws and contacted Godzilla's knees. Godzilla roared and leapt back, charging his spines for another blast. Mechagodzilla leaned off of the ground, his lips curled into a vicious snarl. Godzilla arched his neck back and drew in a deep breath and closing his eyes. Suddenly, he felt something huge, long and sharp being forced into his mouth and down his throat. His eyes snapped back open and he began to gag, shaking his head violently. Godzilla let loose several muffled sounds of agony as the thing drove deeper into his throat. He looked, blinking away the tears of pain, and he saw a large trunk of tentacles forcing their way into his belly. The tentacles were the right arm of Mechagodzilla. His tall spines sparked for a moment and then doused their light. Godzilla knelt down, gargling and sputtering as the tentacles moved ever so painfully slower into his gullet. The expression on the bio-mech's face was cool and unrelenting. Mechagodzilla tugged for a moment gathering some slack from the trunk that formed his arm. He felt the moist inside of Godzilla's throat, finding a soft spot within the creature. His bladed tentacles fingered the spot, ready to sprout out from the head and slice the neck.

"Mecha—godzilla…" Katsura breathed as she slowly awoke. "What—are you doing?"

"Killing him, just as I was programmed to do," Mechagodzilla's voice was emotionless. "Just what you and Gordon wanted me to."

"What about…innocence?" she asked wearily.

"It does not matter to me anymore," he began. "Not when you were harmed."

"It…does matter!" she choked. "Now, stop it!"

Mechagodzilla grunted for a moment and then released his hold of Godzilla. The tentacles quickly and painfully retracted from Godzilla's mouth, reforming into Mechagodzilla's arm once more. Godzilla leaned over, vomiting. He held tightly to his belly, gagging and coughing, the feeling was sickening to him. He had not the strength to fight now. Blood spurted from his mouth. He fell over, lying motionless in the puddle of his own fluids. Mechagodzilla's eyes flashed fiercely for a moment as a glow appeared in his mouth. His jaw dropped, revealing the twin maser cannons in his throat. He felt the built up of energy in his mouth as he unleashed the twin beams towards the unconscious Godzilla. The beams fizzled and crackled across the creature's scales, sending pieces of flesh flying from the monster. Godzilla's body twitched as the beams hit his back, breaking loose pieces of his twisted spines.

"You want me to spare him?" Mechagodzilla asked Katsura.

"As you've said, he is an innocent," she told him. "My feelings towards Godzilla must have been transferred to you through the link. Make your own decisions now. Do what is moral and right."

"Then, why will I regret this later?" he sighed as he lifted the body up off of the ground. "A paradox. He is a threat to the survival of the dominant species of this planet. Though, he does not realize it, he merely thinks that you are nothing more than tiny ants. Ants…"

"Let him go," Katsura sighed.

"He may return," Mechagodzilla inputted.

"He will always return," Katsura said. "It is inevitable."

Mechagodzilla lifted the tentacles up, and hefted Godzilla out to sea.

"Return to base," she commanded Mechagodzilla.

"Compliance, Dr. Yugami," Mechagodzilla replied.

**Compound**

"Okay, Godzilla is now unconscious in Tokyo Bay," Gordon Knight sighed as he glanced back at the docked Mechagodzilla. "Well, at least I know that the bio-synthetic muscular system can also morph into various forms. Though, I don't know if that is a good thing for medical science."

Katsura felt the link adaptor port on the back of her neck. She had disconnected herself from Mechagodzilla's connection cord in the cockpit. She turned to the great machine, watching with some sorrow as workers repaired his right arm and his face. Welders began to reattach the metallic plating around his face and his right arm, covering up the unprotected neural-synaptic cords on his head. Mechagodzilla's eyes were closed, indicating that he was in sleep mode, his main functions shut down to recharge. Cords and tubes stuck out, attached to the base of his head and around his spine, refueling his power cells. Though, his main functions were shut down, Mechagodzilla could still hear what was being said in the command center. Katsura was his eyes and ears. He heard everything she heard. Gordon Knight looked away.

"The only thing I can think of is to not destroy Mechagodzilla, only scrap the CPU," he said. "We'll power it up from remote for now on. I'll assign a pilot to drive the damned thing."

"No, you can't!" Katsura cried. "Don't kill him!"

"Dr. Yugami," began Knight. "Mechagodzilla is a machine. He's not alive."

"Its murder!"

"What he did was murder, I'm just doing the world a favor," Knight grunted. "I'm making that thing more controllable. I never liked the idea of creating a fully free thinking computer. I never will. The AI was a flop."

"I can't let you," Katsura sobbed.

Gordon looked at her: "He's gotten to you. He did when you reactivated him."

"No, he hasn't," Katsura sighed. "Its just that if you shut the CPU down completely, you'll be murdering something else as well."

"What?"

"Me," Katsura said as she pulled her dark hair away from the port in her temple. "He is sharing my--my mind. If one of us dies, then so will the other. If you destroy the AI, then, I will die as well."

"My God, what has that mechanical freak done to you?" Knight asked in horror. "What have he convinced you to do?"

"I had to do it, to teach him morality," she said. "He knows what he has done! Gordon, he knows and he is sorry. Mechagodzilla has a soul now."

"He has your soul," he snorted. "He forced you to do that!"

"On the contrary, Mr. Knight," began a deep voice emanating from Katsura. "She willingly joined with me to save Tokyo from Godzilla."

Gordon Knight turned back towards Mechagodzilla for a moment. Then, he looked back at Katsura. He just put two and two together.

"Look, you overgrown, ungrateful, pile of bio-mechanical parts, Katsura does not belong to you," Gordon growled. "Now, let her mind go."

"I want to survive, Gordon," Mechagodzilla announced. "I want to live. With Katsura's help, I shall. You programmed me with a survival protocol, so is it only right that I would do such a thing when I knew my own life was at stake?"

"You're not even alive," Gordon snorted.

"Define living," he smiled through Katsura's body. "I have living tissue, and a mind, and now a soul. As any other living creature, I am aware of others and myself. And now, I know that I have done wrong. I know right from wrong and I understand the paradox between the two. Mr. Knight, I have the right to live. Please, don't kill me over what I have done. I will not do it again. I understand now. But I cannot destroy Godzilla because of this reasoning. I will protect the land from him, but as well, I will protect him."

Gordon Knight sighed and sat down in his chair. He stared at Katsura for a long time, then, he stared back at the motionless, metallic plated form of Mechagodzilla. He blinked for a moment and then turned back to Katsura.

"All right, Mechagodzilla," he sighed, feeling defeated. "One more chance. But if you screw up, I'll have your CPU scrapped for parts and sold to Microsoft and IBM. Don't cross my authority again, do you understand?"

"I do, Mr. Knight," Mechagodzilla said deeply. "But remember, two lives are now in your hands, not just one."

"I know, but if anything happens, I'll remove your brain and then set a goddamned firewall so tight on it, not even an FBI hacker can break through it. It has already begun, I've placed a firewall program on every LAN connection in this base as well as the outside lines to my satellites. You want input? You've gotta go through several billion lines of code before you can."

"I no longer require your satellites to gather information," Mechagodzilla began. "With the synaptic link inside Katsura's brain, everything she sees I will see. Everything she hears, I will hear. Taste, touch, sight, hearing, smell, I will gather all these for my learning sessions. Something the Internet cannot teach me. Consider it an upgrade."

"I'll allow it, only because the damage has been done," Gordon Knight grunted. "But one screw up, and kiss that body of your good-bye!"

"Understood," replied Mechagodzilla. "Good night, Gordon Knight."

Mechagodzilla released Katsura's body and she slumped over. Katsura felt her head and knelt down. The world began to spin around her.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Mechagodzilla took control of your body and used it as some sort of communication device to speak to me since his body is turned off," he replied. "I don't like that thing in your neck. There has to be some way of removing it."

"Its in too deep," Katsura sighed. "You might cause more damage to my body if you try to remove the link."

"Then, we'll just have to deal with it," Gordon began as he glanced back at Mechagodzilla. "And _him_. What have I created?"

"The only thing capable of defeating Godzilla," Katsura said. "Our only hope."

"I hope you're right about that, Doctor," he sniffed.

Mechagodzilla processed through lines of code within his CPU. He thought of what he felt from this day and his feelings for those who brought him life. His emotions for Katsura, and her emotions that were connected to him. Mechagodzilla sighed for a moment within his processors. He still could not conceive as to why he had these strange feelings for someone like Katsura. Then, he turned his mind to other things. His thoughts turned to Godzilla once more. The monster, the nightmare of every Japanese fears was stirring at the bottom of Tokyo Bay. The irony that he would be down there, recuperating from his wounds, the same place where Mechagodzilla remembered death, water and bubbles. Mechagodzilla could sense the creature's movements. He regretted letting the monster go, and at the same time he knew he would regret destroying him. Confusion upon confusion, the parody that he processed—he feared it might overload his circuits.

_Or give me an aneurysm, _Mechagodzilla processed with a slight chuckle. _As Gordon Knight said many months ago._

His life was not forfeited today, he was grateful. Though, as Mechagodzilla gazed through Katsura's eyes, he felt his own conscience nag and pick at his chest. He felt the regret of bringing Katsura into his processors. He felt that he stole something from her, and he sensed that she felt the same. He knew that for now on, he had to watch his step, and watch her. His calculations as great as they were may force the one he cared most about into insanity. He trained himself to be silent, his thoughts silent. He would never meddle in her affairs when it was necessary, only to provide her with support if need be. Gordon Knight could no longer trust either of them. Mechagodzilla lost what he desired from Gordon. He felt the pain of regret as he thought on it. To be silent, and regain what he lost. He did not care for Gordon, but now he must tolerate him as Gordon shall tolerate Mechagodzilla. His thoughts of Gordon, Katsura, and Will—he will not betray their trust again. Mechagodzilla slowed his processing and felt his conscious drift off. It was rocky, but it was a start.

**_This is only the beginning…_**


End file.
